


Scapegoat

by CSKazaam



Series: FFVII [7]
Category: Compilation of Final Fantasy VII, Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII, Final Fantasy VII
Genre: Gen, Horror, Mystery, Suspense
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2011-05-16
Updated: 2011-07-28
Packaged: 2017-10-19 11:08:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 14
Words: 56,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/200159
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CSKazaam/pseuds/CSKazaam
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Wandering the halls of ShinRa is a murderer - and it's Zack Fair. At least, that's who all evidence points to, so it's up to Sephiroth to discover the real killer. But as two stories unfold, more questions than answers are raised, and time is running out.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Intruder

**Author's Note:**

> This is last year's Halloween fic - I wanted to take a break from things and do something a bit creepy ... And, as usual, my blurb idea kind of snowballed into something much larger with multiple chapters needed to convey the story. It'll be an interesting format, which you'll see starting with the next chapter. Many thanks to LuckyLadybug for help on this fic!
> 
> Hope everyone enjoys it, and Happy Halloween!

The hallway was cool and quiet, only the low hum of distant machinery and circulating air breaking the silence. There was no _taptaptap_ of busy keyboards, no slamming of file cabinets, no sounds of rolling chairs or normal office chatter. Though everything was brightly lit by artificial lighting, the stillness was eerie, and lay heavy upon waiting ears.

Zack Fair carefully advanced down the hallway, stepping slowly and deliberately to prevent his boots from clumping on the tile. He kept his breathing measured and soft, the Buster Sword held at the ready before him. Despite his care, the slight noises he made seemed loud to his ears.

A small microphone hung at the corner of his mouth, held in place by a thin arm, which in turn attached to an earpiece secured around his left ear. The communications device was silent for the moment, and Zack kept his senses tuned to the air around him, straining for the sound of anything out of the ordinary.

He neared a corner. Slowing, he pressed his back against the wall, shuffling up to it. He counted to three under his breath. Then he sprung around, prepared to block the strike he knew was coming.

There was nothing there.

Letting out the breath he'd been holding, he warily examined this new stretch of hallway. Unlike the previous one, someone had darkened the lights at the end, probably forgotten during the evacuation, leaving it in heavy shadow. Freeing one hand from its grip on his weapon's hilt, he wriggled his fingers to loosen them from their stiffness, and thumbed the switch on the wall.

It remained dark.

He muttered under his breath. "Lazy ShinRa custodians."

Resigned to exploring in the dark, he resumed his search. He hadn't taken three steps, however, when he spotted a series of dark spatters on the floor just ahead. Eyeing the dim hallway, he warily advanced and kneeled beside them to get a better look.

A quick dab of a gloved finger and a sniff revealed what it was.

"Blood …" he breathed. His eyes flicked back up, scanning the area. "Seph, we've got blood here." He spoke at a level barely above a whisper, certain now that something else was in there with him somewhere.

 _"… Understood."_ The voice over the mic buzzed faintly with static. Zack assumed it was interference from all the electrical systems and machinery in the building. _"Can you be more descriptive?"_

"A handful of small spots … Looks like there's more up ahead; smeared around a bit." Getting up, he moved further down the hallway. It ended abruptly; an open door in the right wall led to some other room. He eyed the red path streaked into it. "… Seems like it's leading into this room. I'm going in."

There was a hiss of static. _"… Affirmative. Proceed with caution."_

Zack smirked. "Don't I always?"

 _"Be_ careful _, Zack."_

Zack grinned, always getting a kick out of goading Seph into breaking his usually cool, professional tone. But Sephiroth was right – whatever was roaming these halls was not to be taken lightly. It had already succeeded in evading detection … And now someone else had paid for it.

The smile faded.

Readjusting his grip on the sword, Zack glided into the room, keeping to the walls. A test of the light switch once again proved futile, though something sparked from the ceiling. Zack frowned.

Digging into a pocket, he removed a flare and activated it. There was a loud _hiss_ , and green light flooded the room.

For an instant, Zack thought he saw something dark flicker at the edge of his vision. Whirling, he tried to follow it, but found nothing.

 _… Probably my imagination …_

He turned his attention back to the room. It was a very large conference room, with a long table stretching its length. The room was so large, in fact, that the end of it was still cloaked in darkness. Taking a step forward, Zack bent and rolled the flare toward the far wall.

It rolled past a few fallen chairs and over a handful of papers abandoned on the floor, before coming to rest. But it did not stop with the expected _clack_ against the wall, instead halting rather silently against some dark, lumpy object, which seemed to be covered in some kind of black, reflective substance. With some trepidation, Zack ignited a second flare and approached. He kept shy of the conference table, scanning the underside and peering hard at the threatening shadows of chair legs.

Finally, he came to a stop before the object. In the shine of the flares, it almost looked like someone had dumped oil over it. He frowned. _What on Gaia …?_ It also lay in a pool of the sticky-looking black stuff, which he toed, trying to determine what it was.

Realization dawned. It only appeared black because of the green light of the flare.

It was blood. Which meant that the object was …

Zack felt he was going to be sick.

* * *

"This is the fourth death in three weeks! When's the President gonna get it through his head that he needs to lock down the entire building and conduct a thorough sweep? Does he honestly expect people to keep working like this?" Zack paced Sephiroth's office in frustration.

"Likely not until he feels threatened himself." The General ignored the second question, the answer to it self-evident. With an organization as large as ShinRa, the President probably felt he could not afford to shut down all operations, even for a short period of time. Sephiroth sat at his desk, scanning the reports of the killings, his brow slightly furrowed in thought.

Zack came to stand in front of the desk. "Well, if whatever's doing it keeps advancing through the levels the way it has been, his head's gonna be the one that's next! Hasn't Hojo come forward yet to tell us how to stop it?"

"Hojo claims it's not one of his experiments."

"Oh, _really_?" Zack rolled his eyes and resumed pacing. "Has he even bothered to _check_? He doesn't even know what he's got until it goes missing! Just last month I had to pin down three of his critters in the girl's locker room!" The First waved an arm for emphasis. "He kept claiming they weren't his … until I showed him the dang experiment tags _with his name on them_!"

Sephiroth sighed. Hojo was well known for losing track of his monster creations, which usually sent one or more of the SOLDIERs scrambling on a recovery and damage control effort. The man's experimentation was out of control. But, unfortunately, President ShinRa continued to allow him his leeway.

"We haven't seen any direct evidence of the culprit being a monster," Sephiroth said, grimly. "For all we know, we could be dealing with a serial killer."

"A _serial killer_?" Zack shook his head, incredulous. "Seph, have you _seen_ the last body? It was … No human could do that. It … it wasn't even recognizable." He shuddered, haunted eyes recalling the horrific scene. Returning to the desk, he dropped wearily into the chair in front of it, even as Sephiroth raised his eyes to him in concern. It was true … According to the report, they were still in the process of identifying the body, both through dental records and DNA.

"Besides," the young SOLDIER continued, "if it was just some guy, how come he's been able to slip through security so well? They haven't even caught him on surveillance."

"And you think a monster of some kind would have an easier time of it?"

"Well …" Zack rubbed the back of his neck, and sighed. "I dunno. If Hojo's done some funky stuff to it, then I guess, yeah."

"Hmm." Sephiroth leaned back, considering his friend. Zack hadn't been the first one sent out when they discovered the initial body. Security had taken care of that, as well as the next two. But, with the deaths escalating in violence, and still no evidence of the culprit, by the time the fourth emergency call had come in, it was decided it was time for SOLDIER expertise. They evacuated the level, sealed it off, and sent Zack in … only to find nothing, aside from yet another body.

It wasn't difficult to see that Zack had been shaken by the experience. And it was far easier to think that a monster was at fault, rather than a person, especially with such an inexplicable, and eerie, disappearance.

"There's another possibility we need to consider." When Zack looked up, questioningly, Sephiroth continued, "That, rather than a monster or intruder, the murderer could be someone we know – someone already working for ShinRa."

Zack frowned. It made sense, and it would certainly explain why the culprit had seemingly been able to vanish before anyone arrived at the scene – by disappearing into a crowd that knew him – but … "But _why_ would anyone do something so horrible? Those people were innocent! They could have been co-workers with the murderer, for Pete's sake!"

Sephiroth shrugged. "There are a number of people who would seek to make an example of ShinRa, and many disgruntled workers, I am sure. Or, it might have nothing to do with the company … maybe there's something else to relate the people killed."

Zack considered the idea. The victims had all worked on different levels, in unrelated areas, but it was a possibility, at least.

He rose from the chair and leaned on the desk to view the reports. "Let's see if we can figure something out. Have you found any connections between them, yet?"

At that moment, the door to the office swung open, and the familiar, suited figure of a Turk stepped through.

Zack glanced over his shoulder in surprise. "… Oh, hey, Tseng! Got any new info? We were about to take a better look at the reports …" He turned his attention back to the documents, reaching for the most recent one. "Someone like you could probably-"

There was a peculiar, airy-sounding _pop_ ; Zack jerked as he felt a sharp prick in the side of his neck. He slapped a hand to it, then slowly drew it back, his face a mask of confusion. He stared at his hand. There was a dart gripped in his fingers.

"What …?"

He was unable to complete the thought. A sudden rush of dizziness assaulted him, and his senses fled. He collapsed.

"Zack!" Sephiroth was unable to reach his friend before he hit the floor. About to dart around the desk, he was brought up short by a pistol aimed at his head. He stared in disbelief, then narrowed his eyes. "Tseng! What is the meaning of this?"

"Please, stay where you are, General," Tseng replied coolly. "SOLDIER First Zack Fair is under arrest on the charge of murder." Maintaining a steady aim with the firearm, the Turk gestured behind him. Two security guards hurried in, grabbing Zack by the arms and hauling him up. He hung limply from their grasp.

"Murder? _Explain yourself_ ," Sephiroth demanded, barely reigning in his fury. His eyes flashed, promising deadly consequences if the explanation failed to convince him.

Ready with his answer, Tseng produced a letter, tossing it onto Sephiroth's desk. The General gave him a hard look, before reluctantly diverting his attention, grabbing the letter and savagely ripping through its seal. He read through the contents, once, then twice, unable to believe the words. After the third read, the letter fluttered to the desk from numb fingers. It had been signed directly by President ShinRa, himself.

Finally, Sephiroth spoke, his mouth dry. "What evidence do you have of this?" The words were quiet; he gazed at the unconscious Zack in shock. He wanted to interfere, to do _something_ , but he was rooted to the spot. And even if he could move, his interference was strictly forbidden, with Tseng's orders coming direct from the highest authority. He clenched a fist, knuckles turning white.

"The murderer made a mistake this time. We have video footage of him … of Zack … carrying out the deed." Brown eyes softened. "I am sorry, General."

Conflicted eyes examined Zack's face. "… There must be some mistake." Abruptly, he whirled on the Turk. "You say you have footage? _Where._ "

"My office." He gestured toward the door. "I invite you to come look." Though the words were cool, his eyes said, _And please tell me that I am wrong_.

Sephiroth nodded and swept from the room, after the security guards. It took all his self-control to refrain from going after them and freeing Zack. Sometimes he despised his position as General.

"… How sure are you of what you saw in the video, Tseng?" Sephiroth murmured, ignoring the curious and astounded faces of those they passed in the hallway.

The Turk shook his head, his eyes betraying his own turmoil. "General, if there had been any chance … I would not have acted as I did. Even now …" He stopped, rethought his words. "Well, let it wait until you've seen it."

Another nod. And here was where their path separated from Zack's; Sephiroth stopped at the intersection and watched as the guards proceeded to the elevator. He did not divert his gaze until several minutes after the doors had shut.

"See that no harm comes to him, Tseng," he warned.

"I will personally see to it that he is treated well. You have my word."

Sephiroth grunted in response, turning back to the hallway. He did not need to say what would happen if Tseng failed.

* * *

Sephiroth stared at the screen in utter disbelief, unable to keep the shock from his face. "… Replay it."

The events rewound, jumping back to the beginning of the clip. The camera was mounted on the ceiling; it showed a partial view of the hallway, along with a water cooler. As things proceeded at their normal pace, Sephiroth watched an office worker he didn't recognize come into view, take a paper cup from the plastic stand on the cooler, and begin filling it.

As he did so, another figure sauntered into the frame, the dark, spiky hair and First Class SOLDIER uniform unmistakable. The figure grinned, mouth moving in a soundless greeting. _Hey! How's it goin'?_ Sephiroth's inner Zack provided.

The worker straightened, turning toward the energetic SOLDIER. Sephiroth couldn't see his face from this angle, but he must have said something, because Zack laughed, and responded. They exchanged a few words, the conversation ending with Zack smirking and shaking his head, waving off some comment. Then the two turned in the camera's general direction, and continued down the hall.

As soon as the worker's back was turned to him, Zack's cheerful expression abruptly darkened. With swift precision, he wrapped his arms around the worker's head, snapping them quickly to the right. The man dropped like a rock, never having seen it coming. Zack then bent down, grabbed the center of the man's shirt with one hand, and hauled him up. Still wearing the stony expression, he proceeded in the same direction, dragging the man with him. There was a moment, just before he passed out of view of the camera, where he glanced up at it. Then he was gone.

Sephiroth rewound the tape again, this time freezing it on Zack's face. He studied it, willing it to somehow morph into a different visage. But the identity was unmistakable.

It was unquestionably Zack – a Zack with a coldness in his eyes that had no place there.

He felt numb. Turning away, he leaned back in the chair and rested an elbow on the armrest, propping his chin on his fist. Troubled eyes stared unseeing at the floor, as he tried to figure out what all this meant.

"… A clone," he finally said. "Like the Genesis copies, probably created in a similar way-"

"We have had no reports of such copies," Tseng replied. "Though it doesn't discount the idea, it seems highly unlikely. The behavior is too accurate-"

"Personality imprinting. Behavior modification. It's possible – Professor Hojo once wrote a report on the subject, theorizing that with proper application of Mako and stimulation-"

"To what end? To infiltrate ShinRa with one man?"

"As an imposter, yes. Perhaps his goal is to cause panic, discredit SOLDIER-"

"When the man he is impersonating is still within the building? And why go to the trouble to hide his actions in the previous three murders, when the goal is to implicate a SOLDIER?"

"Do we know for certain that the previous murders were carried out by the same person?"

"We can be reasonably sure."

Sephiroth frowned, falling silent, as he tried to offer up a different explanation. "… Maybe the goal is to frame Zack, force us to arrest him, as we have done, and have us conclude that, since no other option seems logical, he is the true murderer." _Murderer_ … The word felt like ash on his tongue.

"Isn't that a bit of a stretch, for the murderer to orchestrate things so that we initially believe that it cannot be the person who seems to have committed the crime, only for us to turn around and then believe it is that person, after all? By extension, shouldn't he also realize that if we have thought that far, we might think a bit further and see that, because we have fallen into his trap and believe it to be the person he wants us to believe it is, it really cannot be that person?"

"… So you believe it to be Zack, then." It was not a question.

There was a long pause. "… I do not wish to believe it. But my wishes are irrelevant in this matter." Tseng's words were bitter. "However," Tseng held up a hand to forestall Sephiroth's protest. "I do have teams searching the building for anyone else of Zack's description."

The General hesitated, then nodded his acceptance of Tseng's actions. The only thing that remained now, much as Sephiroth despised it, was to consider the possibility that Zack actually had committed those murders, and why he might have done it.

"… You may want to examine the idea that perhaps Zack is not the man you believe him to be."

" _No_."

There was a sigh. "General-"

"I will _not_ consider it. Zack could _never_ do something like this, not willingly." Tseng opened his mouth to reply, but Sephiroth overrode him. "I don't care what you have to say about stress, possible cracking under the pressure SOLDIER has put him under. Zack _would not do this_. If he has, something else must have forced him to."

"… Some _thing_ , or some _one_?"

"… Are you saying someone might be manipulating him?"

Tseng shrugged. "Perhaps. If someone was able to find the right pressure points to succeed in blackmailing him, then maybe …"

Sephiroth was already shaking his head. "I cannot believe there would be something of such magnitude that would force him to murder. It goes against his very nature – he would rather suffer harm to himself than bring that harm to another."

"What if the threat of harm would not be to himself?"

"Then who …?"

Tseng shook his head. It could not have been a threat to Sephiroth or anyone else at SOLDIER, unless it was very grave indeed – they knew the risks associated with their chosen line of work, were more than prepared to deal with them. Much as Zack might hate himself for it, he would know it would be best to transfer that threat to Sephiroth, one who was more than capable of defending himself in most circumstances, than attack innocent civilians.

So, who could it be? It would need to be someone important to Zack, someone not associated with ShinRa …

Tseng's blood froze as he came upon the answer.

"Aerith." The name was spoken by two voices, each of them having arrived at the same conclusion. For a moment, they stared at each other in alarm.

A split second later, Tseng had his cell phone to his ear, dialing the number of one of the few people he trusted with this matter. There was a click as it picked up on the third ring.

 _"Heeey, boss man, what's up?"_ The voice drawled. _"Me and Rude were just-"_

"Reno, I need you to proceed to the church in the Sector Five slums," Tseng spoke in a clipped voice. "Find the young girl there and keep an eye on her. Make sure nothing happens."

 _"The Flower Girl? Aw, man, I was just-"_

"I don't care what you were "just," Reno. Do it. Report as soon as you find her."

There was a brief pause as Reno took in the urgency in Tseng's voice. _"Sure thing, boss. No need to get snippy! I'll tell your girlfriend you send your love."_

" _Reno_ -" But the line went dead as the other Turk hung up.

Tseng sighed, snapping the phone shut and sliding it back into his inner coat pocket. "… At least that base will be covered."

Sephiroth nodded, studying the Turk. "How well do you trust this Reno?"

Tseng lifted his gaze to stare Sephiroth directly in the eye. "Well enough."

Sephiroth appraised the man for a moment, then inclined his head in acceptance. "Very well." He lifted his gaze to study the wall, avoiding the frozen image of a face that was not Zack's on the computer screen.

"… You don't believe that Zack is under the threat of blackmail," Tseng ventured, after watching Sephiroth.

"… No. I believe Zack would be clever enough to avoid something this repulsive, or at least find a way to communicate his situation. Besides …" Reluctantly, Sephiroth's eyes drifted back to the face on the screen. "That is not Zack's face. I do not know of anything that could turn him so cold, nor lead to the subsequent butchering of the bodies."

"… Then, perhaps, he is affected by something else."

"Yes. That is what I fear."

* * *

The first thing Zack Fair was aware of when he finally regained consciousness was a splitting headache. He winced, groaning, and rolled over to bury his face into his pillow.

The sudden lack of any kind of support beneath him jarred him to full wakefulness as readily as the impact with the hard, concrete floor. He yelped, throwing out his hands to catch himself … but his arms seemed glued together. His forearms struck the floor, but not soon enough to provide the leverage needed to prevent his head from smacking into it. As it was, he barely managed to avoid a full faceplant by turning his head, instead striking the concrete with the corner of his forehead.

"… Owww …" He lay there, whimpering in misery for a moment, before prying his eyes open to get a look at his surroundings. "… Huh …?" This wasn't his bedroom.

He sat up, only to find when he attempted to push against the floor that his arms were locked within some kind of cylindrical restraining device. He rolled over, leaning back against the bed to get a better look. The device bound his forearms together so that they rested across his stomach, completely enclosing his hands. He tugged his arms apart, trying to draw them out of it. A mild electric current shot into his arms, weakening them and making his skin tingle uncomfortably all the way up to his shoulders. Frowning, he tugged harder, only for the intensity of the current to increase until he grit his teeth and was forced to abandon the effort.

What was going on? Utterly confused, and becoming rather alarmed, Zack glanced around the small room. It looked like it was made of reinforced steel, the same kind used in the virtual reality rooms supposed to be SOLDIER-proof. Behind him was a single bed – or cot, rather – with a thin mattress and pillow. A wool blanket was folded and lay across the end of the cot. And before him was a wall of vertical bars – but not ordinary vertical bars. It looked like they were made of cohesive beams of energy, blue-green in color, and faintly humming with power.

He stared for a moment, uncomprehending. He was … in a cell? _Why? Where?_ He only remembered …

The dart. Someone had shot him … Tseng? But why? And wouldn't Seph have done something to prevent this? It couldn't be real!

Shooting to his feet, he bounded the three steps it took to reach the bars.

" _Hey!_ Is someone there?" He scanned the limited field of view offered through the bars, but could see only the blank wall across the hallway from him. "What's goin' on? I'm not supposed to be here! Hey!"

Frustrated at not receiving an immediate answer, he slammed his shoulder into the bars. There was a painful zap, and he was thrown back to the floor with a yell.

Groaning, he rolled over and stumbled back to his feet, approaching the bars more warily. He scanned the hallway again. "Helloooo!"

Finally, a set of measured footsteps answered him. He waited, relief and apprehension warring within him. He knew those footsteps …

The figure appeared from the left. "Seph! Man, am I glad to see you. Get me out of here, will ya?" Zack grinned, but the smile faded as he took in Sephiroth's expression. "… Seph? … What's goin' on?" He raised his arms slightly to emphasize the presence of the restraints, his nervousness causing his Gongagan accent to thicken.

Sephiroth's eyes flicked to the indicated device, and an expression of distaste flashed across his face. "I _told_ them not to …"

"… _You_ … told them? W-what are you talkin' 'bout?" Zack searched his friend's face. "Seph, _talk_ to me! _What's goin' on?_ "

"… You don't know?"

"Know _what_? Seph, what am I supposed to know?" At his continued hesitation, Zack snapped. "What is it? _Tell me, Sephiroth!_ "

Sephiroth shook his head, eyes dropping to the floor. "You … We have surveillance footage of you killing the last victim, Zack." He raised his gaze to evaluate Zack's reaction.

Zack was taken aback. "… What? I … I … _What?_ "

"There is evidence of you committing the murder. Did you kill him, Zack?" Sephiroth's voice was weary, his eyes pleading with Zack to deny it.

Zack stared in shock. Then he vehemently shook his head. "No! _No!_ Of course I didn't, what were you thinking? _How could you think that?_ That I … No!" He gazed at Sephiroth, feeling the sting of betrayal he'd never thought would come from his friend. "How could you think that?" he repeated.

 _Thank Gaia._ That denial was all Sephiroth needed. He sighed in relief, allowing himself to lean against the wall to the side of the cell. "I'm sorry, Zack. I didn't want to believe it." He shook his head. "The orders came from the President … He had the Turks arrest you because of that video. They couldn't take any chances, with you being First Class."

Zack frowned, trying to process the information. "… I … don' understand. There's a video of _me_ murdering someone? How's that possible?"

"That's what we're trying to figure out."

"Well, it's gotta be someone else, you know that, right?" His eyes pleaded with his friend. "Someone who looks like me?"

Sephiroth nodded. "That's one possibility. We're in the process of investigating it right now."

Zack drew back slightly. "… What's the other possibility?" He didn't like where this was going.

Sephiroth took a deep breath. "The other possibility … is that it _was_ you-"

Zack whipped his head back and forth. "No!"

"-acting under the influence of something else-"

"Seph, _no_!"

"-of course, unaware of what you were doing-"

Zack scowled. "Sephiroth!"

"-which is why you don't remember anything-"

"I _didn't do it_!"

Sephiroth pressed on. "You can hardly be held responsible, Zack."

" _Seph!_ " Zack glared at him, breathing hard. Then he shook his head, muttering an angry curse under his breath, and backed away to sit on the cot against the corner of the wall, drawing his legs up in a defensive posture.

Sephiroth's eyes softened. " _Please_ , Zack …"

Again, Zack shook his head, scowling. "I can't _believe_ you'd think that," he said, thickly. "After all we've been through?" He shot an accusing glare at his friend, violet eyes shining more than usual.

Sephiroth sighed. He'd known Zack wouldn't take this well – the very idea of murdering an innocent person was abhorrent to him. And with the way the bodies had been mutilated beyond recognition, specifically the most recent one … The thought of being responsible for it was sickening. And to be accused of something like that …

"Zack …" Sephiroth fought the strange urge to kneel and hold a hand out to the younger SOLDIER, making his stance less threatening. "Of course I don't believe it. I don't believe you'd _ever_ do anything like that, if you could help it." As Zack defiantly looked away so he could glower at the wall, Sephiroth sighed again. "Zack, please … I'm just trying to help you. If something is affecting you, I need to know about it."

"Nothin's affectin' me," he replied, stubbornly.

"Are you sure? You know it's not always possible to be aware of something that's wrong. You know first-hand that the victims of a Manipulation or Confusion spell aren't necessarily aware of it, or that they're doing anything abnormal."

"… You sayin' someone's cast some kinda spell on me?"

"Possibly. Or a creature you might have encountered. Or it could be the product of some kind of poison or sickness."

"I feel _fine_ , except for whatever it was that _Turk_ stuck me with," he bit out, bitterly. He felt slightly woozy at the moment, which, combined with the turmoil of his emotions, wasn't helping his stomach any. He set his bound arms upon his knees and rested his forehead against them, the cool metal of the locking device bringing some measure of relief.

"I know you do, Zack," Sephiroth replied, kindly. He was about to continue, but Zack interrupted.

"Why couldn't you, ya know, _tell_ me, before knockin' me out and draggin' me down here like this?" he asked, quietly. "I prob'ly woulda understood. You didn't hafta _shoot_ me."

Sephiroth's heart ached at the hurt in Zack's voice. "I didn't know about it, Zack, or I would have done things myself," he said, gently. "Tseng was unable to notify me beforehand, since he felt the need to act quickly. As it was, he followed established procedure for apprehending a SOLDIER First – rendering one unable to retaliate before they know what is going on is the safest method for all involved."

"… What about this place? Never been here before."

"This is the First Class detention cell block. It is rarely used, but we keep it operational in the event that something … goes wrong with one of the Firsts."

"How come I didn't know 'bout it?"

"You had no need."

Zack grunted, shaking his head. "… And this _thing_?" He raised the arm lock, regarding it in disgust. "Do they think I'm gonna try to kill myself, or somethin'?"

"Perhaps. Or that you would be able to escape, despite the wards against it."

Zack returned to scowling at the wall. "Great. … So what now?"

"While we continue to search for your possible doppelganger, I need to find out from you whether you might have come into contact with anything that would have caused you to act so differently."

"How the heck am I supposed to know that?" the SOLDIER demanded. "If you say I wouldn't be aware of it in the first place?"

" _You_ might not be aware of it. But perhaps we can figure it out …" Sephiroth stepped as close to the bars as he could. "Together."

Zack raised his head to gaze at his friend, the hurt still evident in his eyes. But then he sighed, replacing it with weary acceptance. "… Fine. Where do we start?

Somewhat heartened, Sephiroth spoke, ready with his answer. "With your mission to Mideel."

"… Huh?" Zack tilted his head in confusion. "That was … a whole month ago, Seph."

Sephiroth nodded. "And you returned a week before the killings began. It might have some relevance."

"You think so? Huh." Zack's sight grew distant, recalling the events of that strange excursion. "But nothin' happened. I gave you my report."

"I know. But I want to hear it from you directly."

"Hmm …" Zack pondered a bit, then began, a bit haltingly at first, recounting the events of his most recent mission.

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	2. Zack's Journal, Day 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You know, it's surprising how much shorter a chapter is without dialogue. But then again, Zack's not going to be writing a novel. And now you can see why the format of this story will be interesting - as the summary says, there will be two stories unfolding here.
> 
> I usually seem to end most chapters around the fifteen-page mark, but don't expect that with this story. Zack's chapters will probably vary greatly in length. My focus is telling the story itself, not chapter length.
> 
> Hope you enjoy! :)

  
_(Note: misspellings and incorrect grammar corrected for readability)_   


Let's see … How should I start this?

Angeal once told me it would be a good idea to keep a journal to record my missions. And since Seph's mentioned it a few times too, I figured now might be a good time to start, considering this is the first time I'm commanding a mission myself from the beginning! Planned it from the start and everything. Gotta say, I'm a bit nervous about it, but I don't plan on telling anyone.

Except you, Angeal. And Seph, if you read this, but I don't see why you would. … Or anyone who finds this journal, but that brings up a whole bunch of depressing thoughts on why that would happen, so, moving on!

We've been shipped off to Mideel, me and two Thirds, and two infantrymen. Cloud couldn't come, sadly. He's got training. But he said he wasn't interested in visiting … how did he put it … "a forest steamy enough to cook vegetables before you even had a chance to strike the fire." Come on, Cloud, it's not that bad! I mean, I'm from the jungle. Granted it's a northern jungle compared to Mideel, but still! How bad could Mideel possibly be?

Well, today I found out how bad it could possibly be, but that's getting ahead of myself.

We were sent to Mideel to investigate some monster activity – there've apparently been a few disappearances, according to the locals. ShinRa's got a contract with the town to provide SOLDIER support if the local monsters ever get out of hand, which happens on a regular basis, since the Lifestream is so close to the surface here and they mutate. In exchange for that, ShinRa gets a permanent scientific outpost to study the Lifestream, and its effects on the wildlife and people. They'd build a reactor here, I'm sure, but Seph tells me that the land is too unstable, what with frequent earthquakes and such, also caused by the Lifestream being so close to the surface.

All I know is that all that geothermal activity means _hot springs_! I am totally looking forward to those when this mission is over! Got a few days of leave from Seph, and it is going to be a- _mazing_. Costa del Sol has nothing on that!

Anyway me, Hammerson and Stover (the two Thirds), and Harley and Allen (the two infantrymen) arrived early this morning, having caught a night flight out from Midgar. We stopped in Junon for a smaller, more rugged plane that could land at the tiny Mideel airstrip, but there was a three-hour delay because they couldn't find the dang co-pilot.

Well, to make a long story short, we finally made it here a few hours after dawn. I would've let everyone snooze for a few, but our guide was already waiting, and he was rather insistent that we get going as soon as possible, if we wanted to make it to the Ba'keel tribe before nightfall. I kinda felt sorry for the infantrymen, but Hammerson and Stover are SOLDIER, so they can put up with it.

The guide was one Matthew Walker, a local naturalist who works part time at the Mideel ShinRa Research Center. He seems like a nice enough fellow, rather accepting of ShinRa's presence in the town, which surprised me. Actually, all the locals seem like a pretty mellow bunch – guess they know ShinRa can't do too much to them out here.

Dr. Walker was supposed to escort us out into the jungle, making sure we don't get lost, and arrange a meeting with the true locals – the Ba'keel tribe – to guide us to where people have been vanishing. They're a rather secretive bunch, and have been here since before Mideel was ever settled. They don't really bother the townspeople, and the townspeople don't really bother them, so I guess it works out. I hear they do some occasional trading, and sometimes help each other out, but that's about it. They don't speak Midgar Common, though, so Walker's going to be our translator, too.

Anyway, we collected our bags, picked up a few things I thought we'd need that our guide didn't already have ready, and headed out. Stover's grumbling about not getting enough sleep was really getting on my nerves, so I made him walk point with the two bushmen we hired. Let him hack at some trees for a while – maybe that'll help him cool off.

There's not really a lot to say about the trip to the Ba'keel village, except that it was long, and hot. I couldn't decide whether all our thrashing through the brush was more likely to attract monsters or keep them away, but we didn't see much of anything. Saw a few pods of the white, caterpillar-like crysales hanging out in the trees, but we steered clear of those. Not much of a threat, but their fuzzy scales flake off into a powder that'll put you to sleep as quick as any Seal materia, and they've got some ugly looking jaws that inflict a nasty pinch. Other than those, there were several rustlings in the bushes; never did find out what caused 'em.

I think it was sometime after noon when we found a pond fed by a small waterfall. By this time, our uniforms stuck to us like a second skin, so we decided to take a lunch break and cool off. Water was a little on the warm side, but compared to the air, it was Heaven! I'll admit, we probably lingered longer than we should have, but everybody needed it. And we all got a good laugh out of a head hunter trying to take a swipe out of Hammerson's backside. He was okay – I nailed the thing before it got the chance. He'll never live down that girly scream, though!

Everyone's spirits picked up after that, and we made good time to the village, arriving shortly before sundown. Surprisingly, they already knew we were coming – there was a welcoming party waiting to take us to the chieftain. In asking Walker about it later, he told me that we'd been shadowed by a couple of tribesmen since about the time we left Mideel, and we'd have known about it if only we knew what to look for. I asked him if _he'd_ known about it. He said yes, and that it was no wonder we didn't see them – ShinRa's ignorance blinded us to what was right under our noses.

I didn't think it was funny that we'd been tailed so easily. But he seemed to be having a good laugh at our expense, so I told him that sneaking up on a SOLDIER was a good way to lose a head, and he sobered up pretty quick after that.

I dunno, maybe Wutai's been a bad influence on me.

Anyway, we were led to the chieftain's hut. He and the rest of the Ba'keel are a very dark-skinned people, with black hair and rather prominent foreheads and wide noses. A lot of them didn't wear much of anything, though there were some with light, summer clothing obviously from Mideel. The more traditional clothing looked like it consisted of animal skin loincloths or solid fabric wraps; and everyone wore strings of beads, or feathers, or coins, or animal teeth.

The chieftain's face was painted, and he had a headdress that looked like it was made from some kind of poisonous snake's skin, with feathers and strings of beads sprouting from it. He also wore a necklace with large claws on it, which I think belonged to a gryphon, and held a staff with even more claws strung on it, and what looked like … some kind of shriveled lizard's head at the top.

We'd been forced to leave all our weapons at the hut's entrance, so I was admittedly a bit nervous. But the chief seemed like a good guy, even greeting us with a heavily accented "Weeelcome, ShinRa!" before reverting to his native language.

Walker translated for us. I figure the chief – Maal Bak; apparently _Maal_ is their word for chief – already knew why we were there, but we laid it out for him anyway, requesting that he provide someone to guide us to the part of the forest where travelers have been disappearing. He was agreeable to that, according to Walker, and invited us to stay the night – they'd be having a dinner in our honor.

Well, _I_ was agreeable to _that_! Besides, if it meant we wouldn't have to break out the tents and cardboard ShinRa rations, so much the better!

The remainder of the evening was a lively affair, with nearly the entire village gathered, cross-legged, around the fire. There were dancers and music, much of it strange and exotic, while the cooking food sent amazing smells into the air. I won't even try to guess what exactly they served us – various meats and roots, I suppose; it was probably best that I didn't know for sure – but it was heavily spiced with something sort of like curry, along with other seasonings. To finish things off, they brought out some kind of large, deep red fruit that had been wrapped in leaves and cooked in the fire. You first pry it open to drink the juice while it's still steaming, and then eat the thick rind. Kinda weird, but _really_ good!

I thought we'd be done after that, but there was still more to come. Everyone was served some kind of thick, hot, dark drink, their after-dinner special, I suppose. It looked like mud, so it wasn't very appetizing. But it wasn't bad – tasted bitter, with a hint of chocolate and a bite of spice. Walker said the natives called it _nakda_. It was kind of relaxing, really.

While we were more or less enjoying that, the chieftain told us the story of their people, and how they came to know of the 'Strangers from Across the Water' (the settlers, most likely). Then he went on to talk about an ancient legend of spirits inhabiting the forest and how they, and the ancestors of the land, would make it known when they were displeased. They were displeased now, and the natives needed to make amends to the spirits … but they were afraid to because they were being hunted by something Walker translated as 'the Ghosts in the Trees.' Apparently this had happened one other time, long ago.

This seemed a bit confusing. Were the 'Ghosts in the Trees' the same thing as the spirits? I asked that, but never got a real concrete answer. The chieftain kept repeating, "They are taking us away."

I asked him if he'd ever seen one of these 'ghosts.' He hadn't, but he'd known people who had. And they had never returned from the jungle; the only thing left was their screams in the night.

Actually, to relate the story more accurately, the chief said, "We do not let them return." Walker was as confused as I was about that point, but again, the chief repeated the same phrase.

Honestly, I wasn't sure what to make of that story, but it sure was a bit creepy. I'm pretty confident, though, that we're just dealing with some kind of monster here that probably wandered too close to a Lifestream pool. I wouldn't be surprised if the natives thought it was a bunch of supernatural hocus-pocus going on.

The night concluded with what Walker told me was a 'warding ceremony,' designed to protect us from the 'Ghosts in the Trees.' Several of the tribe's elderly women provided a chant, while the younger women were – get this – assigned to paint our faces. I noticed the bewildered expressions on the other soldiers when they realized what was going on … and then it was my turn. I suddenly spotted a rather beautiful young lady whispering and giggling into the ear of someone who was probably her little sister, before sending the little girl my way with a shallow clay bowl of what looked like white paste. The girl was cute, wearing a simple, bright orange dress, and she hesitated bashfully when she reached me. There was a shout behind her – probably her sis telling her to "Go on," or something – then, with a quick glance backward, she dabbed her hand in the paint and reached up toward my face. Rather bewildered myself, I let her do what she wanted. Besides, her serious expression of concentration was adorable.

She drew a line down my forehead and nose, very purposely marked a squiggle on my right cheek, and finished up, quite boldly, with a full handprint over my right eye. Then she spun around and bolted for the arms of her sister, who was holding a hand over her mouth in amusement.

Protection ceremony … riiight …

I think I must've been pouting, because the young lady cocked her head and mimicked the expression, before abruptly laughing and turning away to gather several of the other women. To make an embarrassing situation even worse, we were instructed, in no uncertain terms (by the women tugging at us and Walker's translations) to remove our uniform shirts so they could continue to paint various "protective" symbols on our backs, arms, and chests. Despite our protests, it happened anyway. I found myself stuck with that same young lady who'd been laughing at me, and I'm sure I was as red as a tomato. I tried talking her out of it, but my tongue seemed to be tying itself in knots, and Walker wasn't helping out any. I … kinda think she was flirting with me, but I had no idea what to do!

… Don't laugh at me, Angeal.

Gosh, I hope Aerith never finds out …

She ended up getting a bit too comfortable after a bit, and I was beginning to think that she'd been done painting for a while. Finally managing to break away, I threw my shirt back on with a bunch of stuttered apologies, and went to round up the crew so we could get some sleep before heading out. It had been a long day after all, and none of us had slept much since leaving Midgar!

Seems the other guys had rather enjoyed the attention, though their women had been a bit more professional than mine had. Stover asked that, now that we were painted warriors, if we could break regs and leave our shirts off so the "protection spells" could work.

Giving him a long look, I finally said sure. I also said I was pretty sure mosquitoes didn't count as spirits, but if he wanted to parade around in the jungle without a shirt, I didn't care.

That got him back into his uniform real quick.

The rest of the events that night don't really bear much repeating. We all ended up in small huts, two each, except for me, since I apparently warranted my own hut as the "honored leader." I wondered if that's also why I got a little girl's handprint over my eye, instead of the warrior-like designs the other guys had.

Oh well. Guess it's time to put this pen down and get some rest. If I can. This place doesn't sound at all like the rainforest back home. There's all sorts of strange noises from the critters out there, including something that sounds an awful lot like someone screaming in the distance. When I first heard it, I bolted from the hut, but the guard out there didn't seem worried and shooed me back inside.

Guess it's really nothing to worry about …

Kinda wish they'd saved the ghost stories for morning, though.

Well, g'night, Angeal, wherever you are. You know I miss you, right?

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	3. Escalation

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Writing paralleling stories is interesting, even more so when I have to make sure things happen at the right time, at the right place, in the right story, in order for this mystery to unfold properly. So I've actually been writing several chapters ahead, and skipping back and forth between them to make sure things are adding up and I won't need to revise a chapter after it's posted. But I've finally justified to myself that this chapter is ready! Hope you find it interesting. ;)
> 
> Thanks to LuckyLadybug for making sure that I'm really not crazy after all. Or that if I am, it's in a good way. ;)

Sephiroth spent a good two hours listening to Zack's retelling of his mission and quizzing him on anything that seemed remotely strange. But though he encountered some interesting (and amusing) situations, the mission ended with Zack dispatching a handful of very normal monsters and never finding out what the natives might have been talking about. Sephiroth had to conclude that the mission didn't seem relevant at all to Zack's unusual behavior, if, indeed, it was Zack doing the killings in the first place.

He was left with a sense of frustration. He'd been sure that he would have been able to pinpoint _something_ in the story that would sound appropriately suspicious. But in the end, it was just another mundane excursion.

Though itching to get his hands on a concrete idea and make some progress on the situation, he was, nevertheless, reluctant to leave Zack. Zack had known that there wouldn't be anything in his story to help, and had finished up with a heavy sigh and a dejected expression. Sephiroth hated to give him false hope, but he did allow himself to say that perhaps it simply indicated that there was an imposter somewhere in the building, after all.

"I dunno, Seph." Zack shrugged, miserably. "Maybe there _is_ somethin' wrong with me."

Sephiroth frowned. "Why would you think that?" he asked, perhaps a little too sharply.

"Well … I dunno, from what you said about what Tseng thinks, an imposter just doesn't seem realistic. What if I _have_ cracked, and I don't even know it? I mean, what if Angeal's death-"

"Zack, you've handled Angeal's death, and everything since then, as well as could be expected of anyone. If anything were going to make you crack under the stress, I think we would have seen evidence of it by now. Besides, I doubt, very much, that it would have sent you on a killing spree."

"But what if-"

"If something _is_ wrong with you, it must be caused by something else. It's not in your personality to kill people like that, Zack. If you'd seen the recording, you would understand … I … barely recognized it as you." Sephiroth shook his head, his forehead creasing slightly in pained remembrance. "Your expression was so distant … and unfeeling."

Zack swallowed. " … I'm tempted to ask to see the video, but I'm not sure I really want to."

"It's not pleasant," Sephiroth agreed. "… But it might be a good idea, if it could help jog your memory." At Zack's uneasy expression, he continued, "We'll wait, until we know that Tseng is unlikely to find anyone else."

Zack nodded, slowly. "… I'd just hate to find out that it really was me, you know? It's just so … _unreal_. How could I not remember something like that? I don't know that I could ever trust myself again, if …" He trailed off, shaking his head, allowing his reluctant gaze to drift down to the arm lock that concealed his hands. Had he really used them to so heartlessly murder someone? To maim the body so much that it was unrecognizable? And not once, but _four times_? Even if he'd been under the control of something else, it was too much to bear.

"Then trust my judgment, Zack," came the sympathetic response. Zack looked up at his friend with tormented violet eyes. "Whatever happens, I will be here to help you through it. Even if the worst comes to pass, _we're still friends_. I won't abandon you. Understand?"

Finally, Zack cracked a shallow smile. "… Yeah. Thanks, Seph." Then he sobered as another thought crossed his mind. "But, Seph … I want you to promise me something."

Having an idea of where this was going, Sephiroth gave his head a quick shake. "Zack …"

Zack got up from the cot, crossed the short distance to the bars. "I want you to promise me … that if it really is me, and I do something like that again … that you'll stop me. Before someone else gets hurt."

"Zack, don't-"

"Promise me, Seph! _By any means necessary_."

Sephiroth turned away. "Do not ask that of me, Zack." No, he could not do such a thing. It brought back memories of Genesis and Angeal, and the time Angeal had once asked something similar of him, and he …

" _Why?_ Because you can't do it?" Zack demanded, suddenly angry. He couldn't live with himself if he killed another innocent.

Slowly, the General shook his head. "… No." He raised his gaze to meet Zack's. "… Because I could."

… He had sent Zack after them instead. And _that_ was why.

For a moment, Zack stared at him in shock. Then he steeled his face in determination. "By any means necessary, Sephiroth."

"Zack …" Sephiroth gazed pleadingly at his friend, asking him not to make that request.

Zack held him by that gaze. "Promise me," he insisted again, firmly.

Finally, Sephiroth closed his eyes in defeat. "… Alright," he said, softly.

Zack nodded in satisfaction, though inside, his heart was tying itself in knots. Suddenly weary, he returned to the cot, sinking down onto it. "Sorry, Seph. … I had to do it."

Sephiroth sighed. "I understand." His voice was still quiet.

"… So … what now?"

Shaking off the regret at the promise that was wrung from him, Sephiroth returned his thoughts to the present situation. "… Since we still don't know who is causing the … deaths," he rejected the word "murder," finding it too distasteful, "it would be a good idea to have you undertake a medical examination."

"What? Aww, come on, Seph, you _know_ how I hate those!"

The General allowed himself a smirk at the way that brought Zack's spirit closer to normal. "There's nothing to be done for it. It's the only way we can be sure that there really is nothing affecting you."

"But Hojo's a creepy little-"

"It doesn't need to be Hojo. I can arrange for one of the other doctors to take a look at you."

Zack pouted at him. "… You promise?"

Sephiroth chuckled. "Yes, _that_ I promise. However," he held up a hand, "that doesn't mean Hojo won't see you if they find something unusual, since he _does_ have the most expertise when it comes to SOLDIERs."

"… Fine, if I have to." Zack stared sullenly at the floor.

"You have to." Despite the situation, Sephiroth was privately amused. "And don't worry, I'll send someone down to remove that arm lock. It's completely unnecessary."

At that, Zack brightened. "Yes! You're the best!" He grinned. But that only lasted for a moment before his forehead creased in concern. "… But wait, does that mean you're leaving now?"

"… I have to. There are still things I need to look into. You know that."

Zack's face fell. "… Can't you stay? Just for a while longer?"

Sephiroth shook his head, regretfully. "I can't, Zack. I wish I could, but you know that's not possible."

There was a heavy sigh. "Yeah, I know …" He glanced around at the barren cell. "It's just, you know, this place is kinda boring." _And lonely._

Sephiroth took a moment to fully examine the cell himself, regarding the thin mattress and pillow in distaste. Though meant for Firsts, ShinRa certainly hadn't stretched their pocketbook any in designing the place.

"I'll send some extra things down for you." He was already making a mental note to have someone fetch a pillow and quilt from Zack's apartment, another change of clothes, and maybe some books …

Zack gave him an appreciative smile. "Thanks, pal. Oh, and while you're at it, I could use a TV, maybe a ping pong table, and a pool installed somewhere in the back …"

Sephiroth grunted. "I'll see what I can do," he said, wryly.

"How about some take-out? There's a place that serves some pretty good Gongagan gumbo down the street …"

Shaking his head, Sephiroth stepped away from the bars, glad to see Zack was perking up. "Don't get too comfortable. I don't plan on letting you stay in there for very long."

Zack grinned. "You got it, General, sir!"

Feeling slightly better, but knowing there was some extensive work ahead of him, Sephiroth nodded his farewell. That was one promise he didn't mind keeping.

* * *

After checking briefly with Tseng and learning that a Zack imposter had yet to be found, which was not surprising, Sephiroth decided to retire to his office and once again review Zack's mission report, paying careful attention to his interaction with the natives and the monsters they encountered. Yet again, it seemed to be perfectly normal. _Which is almost strange in and of itself,_ Sephiroth mused, though he had no definite reason to think so. Not all of Zack's missions included mishaps, despite how much Sephiroth had come to expect it. And they were usually always handled well, so there was no reason to assume that the young SOLDIER could not have had a mission go smoothly for once. Gaia knows he certainly deserved it.

Sephiroth stared hard at the words in the document, as if willing them to rearrange and give him the answers he sought. Could something the natives had given Zack be affecting him somehow? Dinner, body paint … both seemed innocent, and Sephiroth was inclined to believe that if they were to have any adverse effect, it would have been seen long before now, a full month later.

 _Unless it was some kind of poison, engineered to act in this manner …_

But why? Zack's report indicated that both the natives and the townspeople seemed amenable to ShinRa's presence; there were, in fact, numerous reports from the Turks to back that up. There would be no reason for someone from Mideel to intentionally force Zack into murdering others, and even if someone had been so inclined, from there or elsewhere, what purpose would it serve? Again, he was back to the original debate had with Tseng. With only one SOLDIER carrying out the deed, whatever greater plan there might have been was doomed to failure.

Sephiroth frowned. _With only one SOLDIER …_ Perhaps he'd better check on the party that had gone with Zack to Mideel. From the looks of things, they would have been exposed to everything Zack had been. At the very least, they should be able to expand Zack's story, perhaps include some important detail that Zack had overlooked. At the worst, as much as Sephiroth hated to consider it, they might start killing as well, and would need to be quarantined before that could happen.

Giving the report a last once-over – and grimacing at some of the atrocious spelling errors; Sephiroth wondered if Angeal had given up on teaching Zack basic grammar – the General set it down and picked up the phone to contact the commanders of those who'd gone on the mission.

 _SOLDIERs Third Class Hammerson and Stover, infantrymen Harley and Allen …_ Sephiroth dialed the appropriate numbers, mentally rearranging his schedule to have each one visit him in his office.

* * *

"… What do you mean, they're all on _leave_?" Sephiroth demanded.

"I'm sorry, sir," the civilian secretary apologized from the other end of the line. "My records show that Third Class Hammerson and Third Class Stover have requested and been approved leave. The same goes for the two infantrymen."

Sephiroth frowned. That was quite the coincidence. But no matter, he would contact them directly. "… How long have they been gone?"

"Since …" The lady paused, obviously scanning for the information. "Ah … Well, they've been gone for a month, sir."

"What? A full _month_?"

"Yes, sir. Since their most recent mission, in fact. Actually, they went on leave en route from Mideel; they never returned to Midgar."

" _All_ of them?"

"Yes, sir."

"Where? Did they stay at the hot springs?"

"No … They've all gone to their respective homes of record. Stover and Allen to Junon, Hammerson to Kalm, and Harley to Costa del Sol. All for … family reasons, it seems, except for Harley, who seems to have gone for 'surfing season.'"

Sephiroth fell silent for a moment. All of them gone for a full month? That hardly seemed believable, unless something happened on the mission that had been more stressful than Zack had revealed. But if that were the case, a ShinRa psychiatrist should have examined them first, before recommending they have some down time. And all gone for family reasons … surfing season …?

"Who approved the leave?" he asked.

"SOLDIER First Zack Fair, sir."

" _What?_ " Zack had never mentioned this! Of course, he had every right to send his men on leave without asking Sephiroth's permission, but a month was extreme. And to not even bring it up, though Sephiroth had been grilling him on the events of the mission …!

"I want you to contact each of the soldiers. Find out exactly what they are doing, and if it does not involve a family emergency …" Sephiroth paused. No that wouldn't do … If any of them had been exposed to the same thing Zack might have been, then even their families might be in danger. "Strike that. Regardless of their circumstances, I want you to revoke their leave status and put them on the next flight back to Midgar. They are to drop what they are doing, _immediately_ , and return. Is that clear?"

"Y-yes, sir." Though used to working with Sephiroth, the secretary rarely heard him this harsh. "I'll get right on it."

"Good. Contact me on my cell when you have finished."

"Yes, sir."

Sephiroth hung up. Forget coincidental, this was downright strange. Would Zack really have handled the matter so irresponsibly? Something was not right.

He stood. First he needed to speak with Tseng about this matter, see whether the Turks might know anything. And then he needed to pay Zack another little visit.

* * *

"Zack."

The SOLDIER was jarred from the book he was reading, and glanced up to see his friend.

"Seph!" He hopped from the cot, which now sported one of his pillows and a few blankets from his apartment. There was a stack of books in the corner. "Come to get me out of here already?" He grinned.

"Not quite, unfortunately …" Sephiroth examined the cell, pleased to note that the things he'd sent for had already arrived, and that the arm lock had been taken away. A box of Gongagan take-out sat on top of the books. "I actually have a few questions I need to ask you."

"Yeah? What's up?"

Sephiroth fixed him with piercing green eyes. "Where are the soldiers you took with you to Mideel?"

Zack blinked in confusion. "… What do you mean?"

"Exactly what I asked. Where are they? You gave them all over a month's worth of leave – which I will have questions about in a moment – but, after contacting their families, no one has seen them. We have been unable to contact them. They never arrived at their respective leave locations. In fact, they have not been seen since you all left Mideel."

"But … that's ridiculous. I haven't given anybody any leave, let alone a whole month! Who told you that?"

Sephiroth regarded Zack carefully. "It's in the records, Zack."

Zack shook his head. "Nuh-uh. Wasn't me! The records have gotta be wrong."

Sephiroth frowned, looking to the side as he pondered this information. Was it possible that the records were wrong? Unlikely.

"… You … do believe me, don't you, Seph?"

Sephiroth hesitated. "I … don't know." He returned his gaze to his friend. "The records, don't lie, Zack, unless someone succeeded in hacking into the system." He made yet another mental note to have Tseng check on that. "I wonder whether something could be affecting your memory in this case, too."

"Whoa …" Zack held up his hands and backed away, shaking his head. "Don't say that! Because if something _is_ affecting my memory, then it means … that I really am the killer," he finished, quietly.

"… I know." Sephiroth didn't like the implication either. "Don't worry, Zack, we _will_ figure this out. But right now, the important thing is, whether it was you or someone else who approved the leave, we need to figure out _why_. And if the soldiers never made it home, _where are they_?"

Zack shrugged. "Well, none of them approached me about leave before … er, except Harley, but he only wanted a week to hit the waves at Costa del Sol … so I can't imagine them all taking off on leave in the first place! And I'm pretty sure I'd remember them all asking me about that, if they did, even if I don't remember approving the leave. So … I dunno, I don't think they went on leave at all."

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "You think they're still in Midgar?"

Zack nodded. "They've gotta be! Oh, 'cept you said they haven't been seen since Mideel …" Zack frowned. "But … are you sure? I thought … they were with me until we landed …" He trailed off, rubbing his forehead. "Weren't they …? I can't … _remember_ …"

"… But they were, at least, with you just before you flew out?"

"Yeah! I'm positive. Allen was even telling me how much he was looking forward to seeing his girlfriend when he got back. I dunno why I can't seem to remember the rest of it … Was I that out of it?" Zack shook his head and sunk down onto the cot, resting his head on his hands. "Man … I'm sorry, Seph, I dunno _what_ the heck is wrong with me," he finished, in a disgusted tone.

Sephiroth frowned. This situation was turning even more worrisome. With Zack having so much trouble, it seemed as if something _had_ happened to him, either on that mission or shortly afterward. Except now he had no other soldiers to confirm it. And that brought up the additional concern – were they all right? Obviously, _something_ was preventing him from contacting them. They could have been captured, held hostage … But why let Zack go, if he likely would have been there with them?

The General sighed. "The Turks are going to be busy." He would have Tseng put additional people onto interviewing the missing soldiers' friends and families, and in retracing Zack's steps since he returned. And he would have some of his own SOLDIERs comb the ShinRa building, and take a look around Midgar itself.

In the meantime, he would re-visit the locations where the victims had been murdered, and try to correlate the time and location with what he remembered Zack doing at the time.

"… Is there anything I can do to help?" Zack's question broke into his thoughts, and his eyes flicked up to regard the younger SOLDIER. Zack obviously hated being so helpless in this matter, forced to sit around and wait while either some killer was on the loose, or for someone to come tell him he really had murdered all those people.

Sephiroth shook his head. "The best thing you can do right now is just stay here. Try to remember as much as you can; if anything new comes to mind, let me know immediately."

Zack let out a frustrated breath. "That's it? I'm gonna go stir-crazy in here, Seph!"

"Zack …" Sephiroth tried not to let his own frustration show. "We're doing everything we can. I don't want you to be in there any more than you do, but neither of us has a choice in the matter. Please …" His voice softened. "Try to bear with it?"

"Alright, alright … Sorry, Seph, I know you're doing the best you can." He offered a small grin. "I'll just catch up on my sleep, or somethin'."

His friend smirked. "You do that."

"And you better get back to solving this case! Enjoy the peace and quite of your office while you can. I'm gonna have a lot to make up for when I return!"

Amused, Sephiroth shook his head. "I'm sure you will." He turned to go. "Take care, Zack."

"You too, Seph. Be careful." He watched as his friend retreated down the hallway, concern lining his violet eyes. Until they knew for sure what was going on, there was still a chance that they were all in danger.

* * *

Wearily, Sephiroth rubbed his eyes as he sat back in the chair, setting aside the report he'd been reading. Despite wanting to devote all his time to helping Zack, as SOLDIER's General, he still had other matters to take care of, especially now that he was left waiting for further information from Tseng and the forensics experts sent to evaluate the bodies.

He glanced at the clock, and blinked in mild surprise. It was four in the morning. He'd been up all night …

Groaning, he stood. As much as he wished to continue, he knew he'd be of no use to anyone if he keeled over in the middle of the day. He'd retire to his quarters for a few hours rest, then return with a fresh look on things. Tseng, or his secretary, would notify him if anything occurred in the meantime that demanded his attention.

Out of habit, he glanced toward the door left ajar to Zack's adjoining office. Often, the nights that Sephiroth worked late would be shared by Zack, not wanting to leave his commanding officer alone during those long hours. Occasionally, it would be Zack himself who would finally drag Sephiroth to bed, telling him that even if Sephiroth could handle it, it wasn't fair to the troops who would have to deal with his irritable personality the next day. But more often, Zack would make the short trip to Sephiroth's office and wait for him on the couch, with Sephiroth promising to finish within the next few minutes. Inevitably, those few minutes would turn into a half hour or more, and Sephiroth would find his Second-in-Command out like a light, still waiting for him.

With a melancholy smile, Sephiroth turned out the lights, locked the office door, and strode down the hallway to the elevator. The muffled thumping of his boots on the strip of carpet was the only sound to be heard. It was quiet this early in the morning.

Mentally prioritizing his duties for the next day, he was quite startled to hear his cell phone ring, breaking the silence just before he reached the elevator. A feeling of apprehension gripped him, and it was another two rings before he answered. The caller ID read, _Tseng_.

"Tseng. Report."

Dispensing with all formalities, the Turk got right to the point. "There's been another murder, General."

Sephiroth's blood ran cold. "Who? Where?" He strode to the elevator and hit the call button, preparing to go directly to the level Tseng specified.

"We only know who it is because of what he had on him, and where he was supposed to be at the time … It's Dr. Greg Davidson."

The SOLDIER froze. That was the doctor sent to examine Zack. "What? You don't mean-"

"He was found in the First Class detention block. In front of Zack's cell."

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	4. Zack's Journal, Day 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I just realized that I'm really leaving everyone with quite the cliffhanger, in not continuing the story from the last chapter until the one after this. Oh well! Can't be helped. Evil plans are evil. XD
> 
> This was a fun chapter to write. I like giving Zack a hard time. This chapter reveals a little bit more ... or does it? Hmmm.
> 
> Incidentally, it has also been fun to expand on the few monsters Zack has been encountering. Most of them are real FF7 critters, since I'm a stickler for accuracy, but, of course, you really only get a rather simple polygon image and a few stats in the game. So I wanted to flesh them out and give some life to them. Hope you enjoy!

I woke up to sunlight stabbing my eyes through a gap in the wall of the hut. Not the most pleasant experience, and I think it set the mood for a rather irritable morning, I'm kinda embarrassed to say.

In gathering all my things together, I was briefly interrupted by a knock on the door, and a young lady providing a basin of water for me to wash up with. I'll admit, I was relieved to find out it wasn't my admirer from last night! I took the basin and retreated back into the hut to scrub off all the paint.

Or I tried to anyway. The dang stuff wouldn't come off! I think I scrubbed until my face was raw, but when I looked at the reflection in my sword, that handprint was still there. Same went for all the lines and squiggly marks on the rest of my skin. In another time and place this might have been funny, but I had soldiers to lead! How was I supposed to do that with a child's finger-paint masterpiece all over my face?

After throwing my stuff together and exiting the hut, I was met with the flash of a camera in my face. How the heck did Harley get that? That was mine! I took off after him, but he was a quick little guy, for a grunt. Finally cornered him at the nearby creek and let him take an accidental dive into the water. The camera was unharmed, thankfully. Blasted grunt probably got photos of everything from last night too! I was getting an inkling that I was going to be the butt of the jokes for a while.

Sure enough, after joining the others for breakfast, I heard them sniggering behind my back. Finally getting fed up with it, I rounded on Hammerson and demanded to know what the deal was. He didn't do a very good job of covering up his grin, and replied that he and the other guys were sure jealous that they didn't have a handprint on their faces as pretty as mine. This is where I probably should have kept my mouth shut, but I told him that if he wanted a mark over his eye that badly, I'd be more than happy to give him one.

… Yeah that shut them up pretty quick. Guess they know better than to antagonize a First now, eh, Angeal? Heh …

Well, the others were in the same boat I was, stuck with their own hand-painted masks. Hammerson's was a bunch of stripes that accented his eyes, while Stover's artist didn't seem to have much imagination and white-washed his whole face. Allen sported a bunch of jagged marks, and Harley simply had one diagonal stripe from his right forehead to the corner of his jaw. No idea what they all meant, but hey, at least we could pretend to fit in with the natives.

When we were about ready to leave, I finally found Walker chatting with one of the natives. (I noticed _he_ hadn't gotten the royal paint treatment.) He introduced the guy as N'kim; apparently this was to be our guide. He was bald, lean and very muscular, and quite … tall. I think he would have given Seph a run for his Gil. I grinned and said hi, but he just remained silent and looked at me with a rather dour expression.

Charming guy. I think we're gonna get along great.

We were just about to leave, when I heard a call behind me, and turned around to see the lady from last night. Oh, Gaia, help me.

She ran up to me holding a small basket of something, and shoved it into my arms. In pulling apart the cloth inside, I discovered what looked like a variety of baked and dried foods. A send-off gift?

I tried telling her I didn't need it, but Walker, conveniently, wasn't there to translate. In frantically looking around for him, I found him standing some distance away with the other snickering soldiers. He ignored my obvious indications for him to get his backside over here and help me.

This wasn't going to be good if she thought the two of us could somehow be together. I already have a girlfriend! I tried expressing that to her, in between everything else she was jabbering at me … and, finally, I think she started to pick up on it.

There was a moment of silence, and her smile turned a bit sad. I gave her the most apologetic look I could and again tried to give the basket back. She just shook her head with that same smile, and pushed it back into my hands. Then, to my surprise, she said, in heavily accented Common, "Good-byeee, Zaack." And she kissed me on the cheek.

I stared at her, stunned, as the guys behind me let out cheers and wolf-calls. She stepped away and waved. "I hooope youuu comme back," was the last thing she said before giving one last smile, and turning and running back into the village.

Admittedly, I was bit off-kilter after that, finding myself regretful that things had to end so sadly for her. But I wasn't the right one for her anyway. I was a SOLDIER – she didn't need one of us. She needed one of her own people. Any dreams she might have had of some handsome foreigner coming from across the water to sweep her off her feet were just that – dreams. Besides, I had Aerith, and nothing was going to make me forget her.

It didn't help the blush when I got back to the men, though. Even my statement of already having a girlfriend didn't quiet them down, but they eventually got over it when I promised to share the food with them.

I felt another pang of regret when I realized that I hadn't even known her name.

We headed out shortly after that. N'kim guided us to a narrow path heading deeper into the forest, but it quickly became overgrown, forcing us to once again hack our way through. This time, I gave the Thirds and infantrymen a break, staying up front with N'kim for the most part. I tried making idle conversation with him through Walker, but he either didn't see fit to answer, or kept to short, one-syllable words. I did manage to find out that the strange critter screaming all last night was a kree'ak, some kind of primitive relative to the Nibelheim zuu.

When I had to let Hammerson and Stover take over the weed whacking, I surreptitiously tried to scratch some of the paint from my arms. One time I caught N'kim giving me a disapproving glare, though, so I abandoned the effort.

It seemed the monsters got thicker the deeper we went into the jungle. About mid-morning, we stumbled onto a swarm of some kind of kimara bug … We have them in Gongaga, but these were different. They were bright red, instead of green, and about the size of dinner plates. Looking kinda like a twisted imitation of a praying mantis, their wings act like a hard carapace that they hide under to protect the soft joints in their undersides. They've got two large, bright yellow false eyes protruding from the top corners of their heads; their real eyes are much smaller – four of them, in a piercing blue color, located just above a set of sharp mandibles.

If they grab onto you with those, you pretty much have to kill the thing first and pry the head off later. Sound nasty? That's not the worst of it – they scuttle around on four long, prickly legs, holding their third set high above their heads. Those are what you really have to watch out for – they aren't true legs, ending in a sharp point to stab into anything the bug wants to eat, pinning it to the ground so it can take a bite out of it.

Thank Gaia those things were small buggers.

Not really weak to any one element, our Fire materia still did a pretty good job of dispatching clusters of them. Lightning turned out to be rather hit-or-miss, but Ice was useful in freezing the things out of the air to let us smash them before they thawed.

The scuffle took several minutes, and we were still left with a bunch of stragglers that followed us through the forest for a fair distance before we finally got rid of the last of them. None of us got away without some kind of bite or scratch. I didn't know whether these red kimara were poisonous, so I decided to play it safe and give Allen some materia practice with casting Poisona on everyone. I think he'll level that thing up pretty soon. I finished things up with a minor Cure All.

Not the best way to start off the morning, but it was par for the course for us SOLDIERs. Sill, 'bout midday, I gave everyone a good break. We'd reached the outskirts of some kind of ancient temple "district," you could call it, not too far from where we needed to be looking. Completely overgrown, there was nothing much left there other than a few columns in various states of disrepair, and a few giant stone heads half sunk into the ground. I perched on top of one of them to eat my lunch.

I guess there's not much point in me describing that stop, except so that I can remember it all later … But it was actually really peaceful there, especially after the earlier battle. We were in a bit of a clearing, or at least there weren't so many trees around as normal, and the sunlight was a nice contrast to the darkness of the forest. There were bright splashes of colored wildflowers here and there, the hum of mundane insects, and various bird calls.

I finally caught sight of my first kree'ak … It was a heavy-looking bird with a long neck, big, toothed beak, and large claws. Unlike the blue variety in Nibelheim, this one was a bright, emerald green, with stubby little clawed wings, probably for climbing up the trees, I guess. Didn't look like something I wanted to mess with. But it just glided across the far corner of the clearing, in search of smaller game.

When I turned back to my lunch, I discovered a small, furry little critter sitting on the stone head next to me, and just staring at me. I didn't want to startle it, so I froze, trying to stay as still as I possibly could. It was adorable! It was small, small enough to fit in my hand, with a furry tail, probably longer than it was, curled into a cute little 'S.' It also had long, tufted ears, which twitched every which way, and a little brown nose. Its fur was light tan, and it had the most amazing purple eyes! I didn't recognize the creature, but it had to have the most adorable face I'd ever seen.

I slowly took out my camera and managed to snap a photo. Surprisingly, the sound didn't startle it. Instead, it cocked its head, and reached its tiny little hands out for the other half of my protein bar, staring at me all the while. Suddenly, another little critter scampered up beside it. It saw me and chirped, standing up on its hind legs to get a good look. It also had purple eyes.

Slowly, I broke off another piece of my bar to try to feed to it, while speaking softly. For a long while it just stared, then snatched the piece, nipped at its brother, and they both scampered away.

That was the highlight of our lunch break. Hammerson commented that he'd seen another one of those animals, one with "chocolate brown" eyes. I found myself hoping that we'd get another glance at one, later on.

After that, it was another three or four hours before we arrived at the hotspot – a temple complex overrun by vines and plants, but still with stone paths visible between the buildings. There were more giant stone heads here, of various sizes. It was really pretty. A lot of green, of course, but here and there you'd see a thin vine of tiny red flowers twining about things to add a splash of color, or a yellow or blue butterfly.

N'kim was unable to say the precise location where people had been vanishing, but that it was somewhere within the surrounding area. I decided we'd set up camp in one of the temples, since it would afford us the best protection, and got everyone started on that. An hour later, we headed out in teams to do a survey of the surroundings.

I was happy to discover that there were more of our little furry friends running around. Several times, I caught glimpses of them darting off into the trees or around some structure, and I even think my two violet-eyed friends followed us here. I saw them peering out at me from a stone ledge.

There was a spring and a pool nearby, but it smelled strongly of the sharp tang of Mako. Even though it seemed clear enough, I instructed everyone to stay away from it – no use taking chances. With that in mind, I figured that the monsters we'd be looking for would be close. I set up a nighttime sentry rotation to sound an alert if anything tried to disturb our sleep.

For supper, we made ourselves a small fire to heat the food over, and I broke out the stuff from the basket that girl had given me. It was good.

I took the first watch. Surprisingly, N'kim joined me for a short while. He sat in silence for a bit, then surprised me again when he started speaking in Common. I didn't even know he understood it! Guess the natives know more than they let on.

He actually spoke rather well, compared to the fragmented Common I'd heard some of the others speak. We got to talking for a bit. He was still a bit of a stiff, but I told him some about living in SOLDIER, and he told me some about living in the tribe. Apparently, the Ba'keel name is a bit of a misnomer, incorrectly applied to the natives by the settlers of Mideel, when they heard the term often used. It originally refers to some forest entity or spirit, meaning "Watchers of the Forest," or, more accurately, "Forest Watchers." Mideel means "Island Forest."

I asked whether Ba'keel was one of their deities. He got silent, and stared into the forest for several minutes. I thought he wasn't going to answer after all, but finally said, "Perhaps."

Well, I wasn't sure what to make of that, so I let it go. Besides, it was time to wake Hammerson for his shift.

With that, I'll end my entry. Thankfully, the kree'aks are silent tonight, so I'm hoping to get some better sleep! I've discovered that Stover snores, but at least it's not too bad.

Wish you were still around to show you my photos, Angeal. I know you always liked taking pictures.

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	5. Answers

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well, this chapter was a long time in coming. I wasn't sure about some elements in it, but I hope it turned out alright ... I would have probably waited a bit longer to post it, in case I had to go back and revise some of the details, but the characters seem to be taking care of things for me in the later chapters, so I doubt I'll have to revise anything. XD
> 
> Incidentally, I discovered a giant kimara bug (praying mantis) on my screen door the other day. It really does look extraordinarily like the bugs from the last chapter, I was a bit surprised and creeped out to note. Man, they have the freakiest eyes. XD ... And for all I know, it's still there!
> 
> Special thanks to LuckyLadybug for advice! Hope you guys enjoy the chapter!

Sephiroth forced his way through the crowd of security guards, Turks, and forensics investigators blocking his access to the hallway. It had been cordoned off; they were only letting relevant parties through for questioning and investigation. A tarp lay over something several yards beyond the cordon, in front of Zack's cell, not quite concealing the object beneath it. Patches of blood were splattered on the walls, even more smeared on the floor.

"Tseng!" The Turk, evaluating the actions of the forensics team, turned at the sound of his name. Sephiroth spoke as he drew nearer, raising his voice to be heard over the din. "Are all these people necessary? Get them out. I only want those actively investigating to be here." For the moment, he purposely ignored the gruesome sight of the body.

"My apologies, General. Most of these are security having reacted to the threat in this area, and my men bringing reports."

"Your men can report over the phone. And this level is a detention block – it is already secure." _Supposedly._ "Have one guard familiar with the layout of this area take two SOLDIERs and conduct a sweep. The rest are to leave."

Tseng nodded, gesturing to the captain beside him. The man headed toward the crowd to carry out Sephiroth's orders.

"You are aware that a sweep has already been conducted, of course," the Turk commented.

"Yes. I want one done again, more thoroughly. Everyone here is required to sign in and out of the block, correct?"

"Yes."

"Seph!" The voice, bordering on the edge of panic, stole the General's attention. Zack, having finally caught the sound of his friend over the noise of the crowd, scrambled to the front of his cell and waved, frantically. "Seph! _Thank Gaia_." The SOLDIER was about to collapse against the bars of his cell but managed to refrain at the last moment, remembering the nasty shock they delivered.

Quickly, Sephiroth strode toward his friend, keeping to the side of the mess. "Are you alright?" He examined Zack's haggard appearance. He didn't look injured, but his eyes were bloodshot and haunted.

"No, I'm not alright." Zack's voice was low, but shook, betraying the controlled tone. He clenched a fist. "They think I did it, Seph." He pointed toward the investigators, then began to pace the confines of his cell. "I heard them talking. There was a man killed, right in front of my cell, right in front of _me_ , and _I couldn't do anything._ I couldn't do anything except listen to him _scream_ as something ripped him apart! _And they think I did it!_ "

"Zack …" It was plain to see that the young SOLDIER was horribly shaken by what happened. Sephiroth began to step forward to comfort him, only to be brought up short by the bars. Suddenly furious, he let out a low curse. Zack was falling apart in there, and these bars were not helping. Turning slightly to the guard beside him, so as not to take his eyes off his friend, he demanded that the bars be deactivated. Fearful of Sephiroth's tone, the guard had them down within a few moments.

Zack had returned to pacing. His shoulders were hunched, and he gripped his arms hard enough to leave painful-looking marks. Once the bars were down, Sephiroth was at his side in an instant, firmly grabbing his shoulders.

"Stop it, Zack." He gave his friend a gentle shake to break him of whatever horrific memory he was reliving.

Zack just shook his head. "I can hear him screaming," he whispered. "Gaia, why couldn't they just kill him and be done with it?" Abruptly, he clapped his hands over his ears. "I can still hear him in my head! And the blood … it's everywhere; I can _smell_ it!"

It twisted Sephiroth's heart to see Zack like this. He gently tugged down on his wrists, got a good grip on them with one arm, and wrapped the other around him securely, pulling him close. Zack struggled, trying to pull free, but Sephiroth simply tightened his grip.

"That's enough," he murmured. "It's over. No one's screaming anymore."

Zack shook his head, beginning to tremble. "He was just three feet from me, Seph. _Three feet!_ And I couldn't _do_ anything! I wanted to reach out, but I _couldn't_. I-I … It killed him, _right there_ , and all I could do was listen to him screaming, and the sound as i-it … it …"

"Shh, that's enough." Sephiroth needed to get Zack out of there. Clearly, he could not have murdered Dr. Davidson, and he couldn't stay here, not with the body nearby. There had even been blood spattered into the cell, upon the walls and floor, bright to contrast with the dark steel. With SOLDIER's heightened senses, it was no wonder it affected Zack so much.

He glanced back at Tseng. Understanding Sephiroth's wishes, the Turk nodded, and gestured for them to follow. Gently tugging on Zack, Sephiroth led him out of the cell, taking care to block his view of the body. Though no stranger to death, even scenes as grisly as this one, it was still easy to be overwhelmed, especially at an innocent suffering so horrific a fate. And Zack had a kinder heart than many.

Tseng guided them further down the hallway, around a handful of corners, until the sharp copper tang in the air faded, and the muted discussions of the investigators were lost under the hum of the circulation systems. They arrived at a small break room, usually reserved for the guards stationed up here. A table sat, surrounded by a handful of chairs, and two couches were set against the walls. There was already a tray sitting on the table, holding some water glasses and a steaming mug.

Sephiroth glanced questioningly at Tseng, as he had Zack sit on one of the couches.

"Something to calm him down," the man replied, quietly.

The General nodded his thanks, wondering, at the same time, how Tseng had managed to have the tray arrive before him. But he refrained from asking, accepting it as one of the Turk's little secrets.

Sephiroth presented the mug of liquid to Zack. "Drink this. You'll feel better."

Zack nodded, shivering, and took it. He'd been silent since they left the cell, and currently had his eyes trained on the floor. After another moment, when Zack made no move to do anything with the offered drink, Sephiroth sighed and knelt before him, gripping his shoulder.

"Zack. Look at me. … _Look at me_." Sephiroth snapped his fingers in front of Zack's face, at last succeeding in bringing the violet gaze up, slowly, to meet his. " _Drink._ " He gave the mug a gentle push.

Zack's eyes gradually flicked down to the steaming liquid. Finally, he raised it to his lips and took a sip. After a moment, he closed his eyes and sighed, a portion of the tension seeming to slowly drain out of him. Wrapping his hands around the mug, he took a moment to appreciate the warmth radiating from it.

"… Thanks, Seph. Tseng." He raised his eyes, acknowledging them both, before glancing back to the drink. "I …" He trailed off, finding his words pointless, and just shook his head, sighing.

Unsure quite what to say himself, Sephiroth instead took a seat beside him. Right now, what Zack needed was the simple comfort of a friendly presence. Sephiroth hoped that that, and the hot drink, would eventually relax him enough to bring him back to normal.

Tseng stepped away, taking up a position near the door, content to let Sephiroth handle things his way. He would know that they would need Zack's recounting of events at some point, but it wasn't necessary to rush it. Tseng had done his best to keep Zack calm, talking to him before Sephiroth had arrived, but he knew he was no substitute for a close friend.

After several minutes, Zack eventually spoke.

"… You know I didn't kill him, right? … I mean, _I_ know I didn't kill him. I was in the cell before it all started, so there's no way I could have." He shuddered. "I heard one of the investigators wondering if I'd somehow done it anyway, since he was right in front of my cell. Like if I'd done it with my mind, or somehow escaped, or ripped him apart right through the bars …"

"That's ridiculous-"

"I know! I couldn't have done it, right? You believe me? I mean, I remember it – I remember _everything_. I heard him screaming outside the cell … He just screamed and _screamed_ …"

" _Enough_ , Zack." Sephiroth wrapped an arm across his shoulders, only to notice slight tremors running through his friend. "Stop doing this to yourself."

Zack sniffed and nodded, running a shaking hand through his disheveled hair. At Sephiroth's encouragement, he continued to drink from the mug, eventually calming down. It seemed that he found some solace in Sephiroth's partial embrace, and did not pull away.

When Zack's shivering had finally ceased, Sephiroth decided it was time they asked for his version of events.

"… Are you ready to tell us what happened?"

He took a deep breath; blew it out. "Y-yeah … Yeah. I'm good." Another sigh. "It's just … still so surreal. Dr. Davidson was there … and then, all of a sudden, it hit. No one saw it coming."

Sephiroth shared a glance with Tseng, then returned his focus to his friend.

"He said he'd come to examine me, had to do a late-night call, since he'd been so busy. So I moaned about it, good-naturedly of course, and we chatted a bit and he asked some questions while we waited for the guard to go get the codes for the cell.

"And then, without any warning, the lights went out."

* * *

 _Suddenly, it was pitch black, and silence fell upon Zack's ears as the circulation systems died. Even the glowing bars before him had blinked out, causing him to take a startled step backward and leaving orange afterimages upon his vision._

 _"What in the world …?" came the surprised voice of the doctor._

 _Zack blinked, willing his SOLDIER night-vision to adapt to the sudden darkness. "Hey, Doc, you alright?"_

 _"I'm fine, just a little surprised is all."_

 _"Well, stay put – I'm sure the guard'll get the power turned on pretty quick."_

 _There was a slight rustle, and Zack assumed that Dr. Davidson had nodded._

 _"Have you had problems with the power up here before? Strange that it should go out, considering this is the First Cl-"_

 _There was a sudden_ thump _, interrupting the doctor's words, and a startled,_ Oof!

 _"Hey-!"_

 _"Doc? … Dr. Davidson? Hey, Doc, you okay?" Zack took a hesitant step forward, wondering if the man had somehow tripped._

 _"What the-? Get off me!" The voice was indignant. Then there was a gasp. "What are you-?"_

 _Unexpectedly, a frightened yell split the air. "Stop it! What are you doing!" Some scuffling. "Get away from- Zack,_ help me _!"_

 _At that, Zack took two steps forward, still lost in the pitch blackness, only to be jolted to a halt by an sudden, agonized scream. Something hot and wet splattered his face; he jerked in shock._

 _"Zack! Hel-_ Help _!" That was the last coherent word the SOLDIER made out, before all Dr. Davidson's cries dissolved into ear-piercing screams._

 _Zack recoiled in utter horror, slamming the back of his knees into the bed and making it crash against the wall. For one heart-stopping moment, he was sure that whatever it was would come after him. But it didn't; after only a brief pause, the raw screams continued._

 _What was it?_ What was it? _Zack couldn't see, and now didn't want to. He'd backed himself into the corner beside the foot of the bed, and stood, petrified, as he listened to the horrific sounds just beyond the entrance to his cell. In between screams, he heard the scuffling of clothing and limbs, the scrabbling and slipping of shoes against wet floor, the solid impact of flesh against flesh … Dr. Davidson must still be struggling with the thing. But amongst all of that, there was also the distinctive, familiar sound of something sharp slicing through-_

 _There was another blood-curdling scream._

Holy … _The man was being_ ripped apart _._

 _Zack's legs gave out, sending him slowly sliding down the wall to the floor, and he brought a shaking hand up over his mouth as he stared in horror at the darkness beyond the cell. He now thought he could see shapes, awful, terrible, deformed shapes, in a violent, desperate tussle._

 _No … nonono_ No _, this couldn't be happening …_

 _In a futile effort to reject the reality, Zack shut his eyes, clapping hands over his ears to shut out the screams. But he could still hear them; they wouldn't stop!_

Go away go away go away _go away_! _More than anything, he wished for the screams to stop, or to blast it all away with materia, or, better yet, to just wake up …_

 _And then, abruptly, he got his wish._

 _The screams stopped._

… Gaia, no …

 _There was the sound of something being dragged a short distance, and then a quiet_ thump _. It was followed by some pattering noises, of something stepping across the floor, then silence._

 _Dread stopped Zack's heart._ It was coming. _There was nothing between him and it; the energy bars had vanished. He was trapped._

And it knew where he was.

 _Zack waited, heart pounding. His sensitive ears strained to catch the tiniest sound._

 _After several moments, there was a barely audible_ shhh _and a_ creak _._

 _Zack remained huddled in the corner as silence pounded his ears to deafness, and prayed for someone to wake him up._

* * *

They were quiet for a few minutes, after Zack finished recounting the events. Finally, Tseng spoke up to explain how this had occurred at roughly eleven the night before. No one had come to discover the body until about three-thirty that morning, shortly before Tseng had contacted Sephiroth. The guard gone to fetch the codes had been locked out of the area; it had taken hours for him to locate someone and bring the power back online.

 _Four hours. Over four hours, Zack was in there …_

Sephiroth found himself squeezing Zack's shoulders tightly, and forced himself to relax.

Zack gave him a wan smile. "Hey, Seph, I'm okay now." Though Zack himself was clutching the mug tightly, his knuckles white. He drew a shuddering breath. "I dunno why I j-just … _froze_ … Gaia, I should have done _something_ , but I …"

"No one's blaming you, Zack."

Zack grunted. "Tell that to those _investigators_." He scowled, glancing down into the half-empty mug.

Tseng stepped in. "They're just spooked. They've been on edge, as we all have, since the murders began."

Unconvinced, Zack turned away. "They look at me like I'm some kind of monster," he said, bitterly.

" _Zack_ ," Sephiroth chided.

"Well, it doesn't help when I'm locked up in a special cell like some kind of freak gone bad."

Mentally, Sephiroth flinched. He knew this was a sore point with the young SOLDIER, but Sephiroth was not immune to it either, and did not appreciate the careless words. He stiffened, removing his arm.

"You know that is not the case. You are here because we are trying to help you and keep you safe. If this were not the best solution, _I would not have allowed it_." He regarded his friend sternly. "I know you have been through something terrible last night, Zack, and I sympathize. But you need to keep a clear head, and wallowing in self-pity will get you nowhere."

Zack stared at him with widened eyes. Then he seemed to shrink down into the couch.

"… Sorry, Seph," he apologized, quietly. "… I … I guess I wasn't thinkin' …"

Sephiroth allowed him to stew for a few minutes. Then he relented. "Accepted. … Finish your drink."

Zack nodded, wordlessly, and did as he was told.

Sephiroth sighed. He understood that Zack was likely beating himself up over not helping Dr. Davidson, and Sephiroth also regretted that the young SOLDIER had been unable to do anything. But another part of him, the illogical part, was glad. With no weapon of his own, Zack would likely have been injured, if not killed, by the unknown murderer. Yes, as a SOLDIER, he technically should have the advantage. But they could not afford to underestimate this killer; clearly, he had chosen to attack in the dark, so may have had some kind of advantage there. How he was able to infiltrate the area, cut power, and remain undetected was another mystery entirely. Sephiroth would need to consult with Tseng on that.

However, now that he thought about it, this sick occurrence did have one bright note. It meant that Zack was not the killer. The revelation lifted a burden from Sephiroth's shoulders that he hadn't known he'd been carrying.

He set a hand upon Zack's shoulder. "There is one good point in all of this." When Zack looked up at him questioningly, he continued. "At least we know you're not to blame. The fact that you were conscious and remember it all indicates that something was not occurring to you without your knowledge."

Zack's glum expression slowly gave way to a tired smile. "… Yeah …"

"What do you say to returning to your own quarters?"

Zack brightened. "That would be awesome." All he wanted to do was sleep, and to do so in his own bed would be _Heaven_!

Tseng stepped forward, clearing his throat. "Sephiroth … I would caution you on that." Giving Zack an apologetic look, he waved Sephiroth closer.

The General frowned and, indicating to Zack that he would return in a moment, got up and followed the Turk into the hallway, just outside the door.

"What is it?" he asked, lowly.

Tseng hesitated. "… We have some … interesting … surveillance footage that does not quite agree with Zack's story."

"Surveillance …? There were cameras in his _cell_?"

"Just a precaution, General. There are cameras in all the cells on this level."

Sephiroth growled. "Is there no depth too low for ShinRa to stoop?" He shook his head. "Never mind. … Are you telling me Zack just _lied_ to me?" He fixed the Turk with a stern glare.

"… Not … precisely …" Tseng looked as if he would have liked to elaborate more, but was unable to. "… It is something you will have to see for yourself. I am unsure how to describe it, except that it is … strange."

Growing frustrated, Sephiroth sighed. "Is there some reason why I should not allow Zack to return to his quarters?" His hard tone indicated that there had better be a very good reason for him to force Zack to stay here another night.

"… Perhaps keeping him under house arrest should suffice."

Sephiroth gave the Turk a calculating look, but Tseng remained unmoved.

"… All right. I'm trusting you on this, Tseng."

He nodded. "I will ensure it is not misplaced, General."

Sephiroth whirled, striding back inside the room. Zack cast him an apprehensive look.

Without preface, Sephiroth spoke. "The good news is, you may return to your quarters." At this, Zack's eyes brightened. "… The bad news … is that you will be confined to your rooms for your own safety." Glancing sidelong at Tseng, he continued. "Hopefully, this will blow over soon."

Zack frowned, processing the information. For a moment, he looked as if he might protest, then he simply shrugged. "Fine by me, I guess. I just wanna sleep all this off."

Relieved that Zack wasn't going to fight this, Sephiroth gave him a small smile. "I'm sure you do. … If you're ready, let's go."

"Oh, I've been ready for a long time!" Zack stood, wearily, setting the mug back onto the tray. "It'll be a good day when I never have to see this place again."

Sephiroth smirked, falling into step beside his lieutenant as they exited the room and headed in the direction of the elevator. The General chose a route that would skirt the crime scene at Zack's cell.

Tseng chose that moment to excuse himself. "I'll be in my office, General." Before the General could comment, he added, "And I'll have the preliminary investigative report ready for you."

Sephiroth nodded. "Thank you."

It was several minutes later when the two SOLDIERs arrived at the door to Zack's modest apartment.

"Suppose you'll be needing my key, huh?" the younger SOLDIER asked, with a wry smirk.

"I'm afraid so."

Zack fished around in his pocket for the keycard, then handed it to his friend. Sephiroth took it. Taking out his own master card, he slid it into the device beside the door, and keyed in the override code that would seal the room unless he opened it himself. There was a beep, and the small indicator light turned yellow. Then he keyed the code to open the door. The light turned green as the door slid to the side, revealing the darkened interior of Zack's rooms.

Zack hesitated, bouncing on his feet. "Sooo … Guess I'll … see ya around, huh?" He swallowed, his mouth suddenly dry.

"I'm just a phone call away, Zack," Sephiroth replied, reassuringly.

"Right …" He scratched the back of his head. "Well, I'll just … I'll be here! You know where to find me, I guess …" He trailed off, uncomfortably, not sure what else to say as he watched Sephiroth nod. "Er … bye …"

The General watched as Zack turned away, the glum expression returning to his face. Sephiroth's eyes softened. In a moment, he had wrapped Zack in a strong hug, having missed the chance to properly do so after Zack's ordeal.

"… Seph …" Surprised, Zack slowly returned the embrace, letting his fingers curl into the back of Sephiroth's coat.

"I'm sorry about this, Zack. About having to suspect you, and keeping you locked up, and about last night …"

"… But it's fine, it's not your fault …"

"I wish I'd been there last night." Sephiroth's chest tightened as he realized that, with the cell bars having been deactivated, it could easily have been Zack torn apart, too. "You shouldn't have had to witness all that. I'm sorry."

Zack's fingers tightened. "Aww, stop it, Seph. You're gonna make me cry." He chuckled, then pushed Sephiroth away, his eyes bright. The memory of that horror was still too fresh and far too painful, but he hadn't broken down yet, and didn't want to, certainly not in front of his friend. Rubbing an arm across his eyes, he turned away. "Now hurry up an' go find that killer. Next time I see you again, it better be to tell me that you caught 'im!"

Sephiroth crossed his arms with a grunt, a smirk finding its way upon his lips. "I'll see what I can do."

"You better!" Zack stepped into the room, only to glance back with a wave. "See ya."

Sephiroth gave him a nod. He keyed in the code; the light turned red, and each friend watched as the door separated them.

Had anyone later asked, Sephiroth would have reported that, afterwards, he immediately spun and left, heading to Tseng's office.

He would never admit that there were a good five minutes during which he simply stared at the door that he had sealed with his own hands.

And he knew that, on the other side, Zack was doing the same.

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	6. Zack's Journal, Day 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't look at me like that - you didn't really think I was going to immediately reveal what happens after the last chapter, did you? Ha! What a silly idea. Of course not! And now, a little break for an entry from Zack's journal.
> 
> No, I did not forget how to count, nor did I miss a chapter. This is intentionally Day 4. You'll see! ;)

… Wow. … Not quite sure what happened to me …

Everyone says I've been totally out of it for the last day or so.

Guess those kimaras really can be poisonous. Sucks if the guy with the only Heal materia loses the dang thing. Should probably write Allen up for that, but guess I can't really blame him.

Oh … I should probably go back to the beginning and say what happened. Sorry, my head's still fuzzy from whatever it was they gave me. I should probably be sleeping, but someone's gotta be taking the notes here. Besides, they won't let me get up and do anything else. I …

Oops, spaced out for a second there.

What was I …?

Oh yeah, back to the beginning.

Yesterday. Um, so we'd gotten up in the morning and split into search parties to look for the monsters. Of course, we kept within about a hundred yards or so of each other, so we could still hear in the event that something went wrong. Would have let them go further out, but the jungle is pretty dense out here.

I'd gone with N'kim and Walker, and each of the Thirds paired up with an infantryman. We'd gone a fair distance out from the camp, and everything was going smoothly – as in the few monsters we came across were all successfully vanquished – until about mid-afternoon. A call came from my right, from Hammerson and Allen's direction, so I repeated it down the line to Stover and Harley, and took off for their position.

Before I knew what I was getting into, I had already hurdled into a kimara swarm so dense, it was like someone let lose a whirlwind in a rose shop, only worse. The giant red bugs were everywhere! I'd swipe at a cluster of them, only for three or four more to arrive and land on my sword before I'd even finished the swing! The intensity of their buzzing made my head vibrate.

We'd be eaten alive in short order if I hadn't made good use of my Barrier materia. It's still only at Level 1 since I keep forgetting to use the blasted thing, but it was all I had. I made sure my party was good and covered by it, then blasted my way through with Ice and Lightning to find Hammerson and Allen and get them secured. Thankfully, Hammerson's Fire did a good job of holding back the bugs, so we set about scorching that whole area.

I think we made a noticeable dent in the swarm by the time Stover and Harley finally arrived. They joined in. I assigned Allen to hunker down with Walker and keep him alive; was about to do the same for N'kim, but he turned out to be pretty handy on his own – used a Stop materia and a spear he carried with him to cut down the bugs.

We were in the fight for a while – turned out Hammerson had stumbled onto a nest of the things. All the materia casting was wearing me down; I had to resort to using my Osmose to restore my energy, which was pretty desperate, considering bugs don't carry much magic in them in the first place.

My Barriers had failed multiple times by now, and we'd all been jabbed and gnawed on to various degrees. I think there was still a head with its mandibles imbedded in the back of my calf, if the sharp pain was any indication. Anyway, about the time the bugs finally started to thin out, I began to wonder that, if it was a nest, where was the queen and could we get rid of her for good?

I need to stop wondering things I don't wanna find out the answer to.

There was a shout, and I looked up to see N'kim on the ground with one heck of a gigantic bug standing over him, about to spear him through.

The bug was gold. It was taller than me. I guess that was the queen I was looking for.

Seeing that the other soldiers were still engaged in their own skirmishes, I broke away from mine and sprinted for N'kim. The rest of it happened in a blur.

The queen had pinned N'kim by the leg and his spear was just out of reach. I arrived and sliced off the first claw as it jabbed downward. I was about to slice off the second one, but my foot landed in a sinkhole and pitched me forward. So I missed.

Still saved N'kim, though. The bug's second claw also missed. But only because it stabbed through my arm instead.

I'll never forget the look on N'kim's face when the claw stopped inches short of his head. It was priceless. Wish I could have laughed.

I can't really remember what happened after that. I remember a lot of shouting, watching a bunch of trees zipping by, and then looking up and seeing N'kim and Hammerson bending over me. The guys tell me that the queen flung me away, but that the bug didn't last much longer because they mobbed it and sliced it to pieces.

After that … the only thing I remember is suddenly staring up at the inside of my tent. It was dark orange. I remember that … There was a lot of orange. Orange and black, light and dark. The fire was orange, N'kim was orange, even the awful drink he was forcing down my throat looked orange. I couldn't see much beyond the flickering orange, but I could hear voices out there. There was also a voice in my tent, and I think it was probably orange too. It was also very deep and hypnotic, and I think I fell asleep listening to it. That was probably a good thing, because the orange was hot and uncomfortable, and made my head ache.

… Re-reading all that, it sounds ridiculous, so I'm going to ignore that I ever wrote it. No one'll ever read it anyway.

I guess what really happened, according to the guys, was that N'kim took it upon himself to carry me back to camp. They say I'd quickly gotten feverish and delirious. Seems that, of all the bugs, it was the queen that was poisonous. Allen would have taken care of it, but in the scuffle with all the other bugs, his Heal was knocked loose from his rifle and lost in the undergrowth.

With no Heal materia, N'kim went back out into the forest to collect some items and make some kind of home-brewed natural remedy. He says that that, and the ritual and chanting he did, saved my life. Walker says that he'd seen the potency of the native "magic" at work before, so he simply helped N'kim. The other guys had no idea what to do, and Restore wasn't doing anything except healing the actual injuries, so they let them do their thing.

… Apparently, the ritual involved scrawling some new decorative lines on my arms and face. And guess what? They're orange.

To add to everything else that I don't remember, the guys say that shortly after they returned to camp, a giant sea worm sprung out of the ground and started wreaking havoc on everything. Now that's really weird, because they usually live along the beaches – they never go into the forest! In investigating it later, Walker concluded that, with the ground in this area saturated with so much Lifestream and water, it must've found a path out here from the beaches and followed it. Probably the rhythm of our footsteps were what prompted it into attacking.

Then they tell me something else bizarre, which I'm not sure I believe. Since this was all before N'kim had a chance to make his antidote, they say I tried to get up and run out to fight the thing by myself. It took both Thirds to hold me down. I … honestly don't remember. I want to believe they're pulling my leg, but none of them were in a joking mood when I finally came around earlier this morning.

It was the two infantrymen and N'kim who managed to defeat the worm. Allen took my Ice to help take it down – guess he must've been paying attention in training; those things are weak to Ice. And I gotta give him credit – that Ice was mastered, yet he still managed to pull off a couple spells. I think he's gonna go pretty far. Might want to look into recommending him for SOLDIER after this. I'd say he redeemed himself for losing that Heal.

I have to give them all a lot of credit, actually. Surprisingly, it was Stover who stepped up to keep things together while I was out. I didn't think he was the type, after complaining about the long flight a few days back.

Anyway … at the moment, I'm stuck here in the main temple chamber. At least they've finally let me out of my tent, even if I'm confined to the building. I'm sitting here against one of the columns at the top of the steps, and I can watch everyone out there practicing in the courtyard … But even though my arm is perfectly fine now, they won't let me get up to do anything until N'kim stops giving me whatever medicine it is he's made, and I've rested for a day or so. I don't see what the big deal is! My head's clearing up pretty well now, unless N'kim forces me to drink some more of that stuff. I might just throw it back in his face if he does.

… He's watching me like a hawk right now. Let's see how long this staring contest will last.

Dang, Hammerson just walked through and ruined it. I was totally winning, too.

… Now Hammerson's giving me a look! Wonder what _his_ problem is? I run out _once_ and deliriously try to fight a sea worm, and now everybody's paranoid I'll do it again. Gaia, they're worse than Angeal when I get the flu.

Wish Aerith was here so she could feel sorry for me. … Or at least pretend to feel sorry for me.

Think I'll just entertain myself with feeding those little furry things that keep running through the camp. They're fun little guys, playing and watching what we do. My two little purple-eyed pals are still hanging around out here too. In fact, there's one on my boot right now, waiting for me to feed it.

Harley and Stover claim that they've seen a bunch of blue-eyed critters. I keep looking for one, or for Hammerson's little brown-eyed friend, because I bet they'd be cute! But I only ever see them with purple eyes.

Oh well, just gotta keep a lookout! I've been randomly taking photos of them, and everything else I see, since it's not like I've got anything else to do at the moment.

Dang, mutinous soldiers.

It really is peaceful here, though, which I'm getting the time to appreciate. Something about the stillness, the quality of the air really makes you just want to lean back against something and sleep in the sunshine, listening to the light chatter of the birds and the insects. There's a faintly sweet, refreshing scent about the place too, which must be from some of the flowers growing around.

… Though if I'm caught napping, I'm never gonna live it down. Bad enough that Angeal's little minions have this whole poison thing to hold over me. If they think I'm still tired they'll probably confine me to the tent and finish the mission without me! As it is, they're already taking a break for the day to keep me with them.

In between feeding the furries, I've been entertaining myself with snapping the occasional photo of N'kim, over there by the fire. He gets a funny look every time he sees me using the camera, and I'm trying to get a picture of it.

… You know, he hasn't really left me since I became conscious enough to realize what was going on. In fact, with the exception of running out to get the medicine ingredients yesterday, he's stuck with me since I was skewered by that kimara.

Wonder if he's finally warming up to me because I saved his life? Well, "warming up" is a relative term, I suppose, since he still doesn't say much. But he doesn't seem as cold as he once did. Though it's not like any of the other guys wouldn't have done the same thing for him, if they'd been able.

… At least his orange paint doesn't seem as permanent as that white stuff. And the white stuff is slowly starting to wear off, thankfully. Just have to keep scrubbing at it!

Awesome, it's almost lunchtime. Just gotta make it until tomorrow morning, and then I'll finally get back into the action!

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	7. Lies

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter brought to you by Procrastination!
> 
> You know, I once said to myself, Kazaam, I said, I am never _ever_ going to write for the Turks. Not only do I not really care for them all that much (Reno is rather annoying, Rude is rather boring), but I have no interest in writing anything about such minor characters (completely ignoring the fact that Zack was once the most minor character of them all). Although, I did come to like Tseng after Crisis Core, I still simply didn't care enough - besides, it was enough for me to have finally gotten Zack's and Sephiroth's voices; there was no way I was going to be able to find the proper voices for the Turks. ... And now, here I am, months later, with Reno having made a cameo appearance in an earlier chapter, and Tseng now having had a large role in several chapters out of necessity. Including this one. XD What does that say? Well, maybe I have more voices in my head than I thought I did. Either that, or necessity really is the mother of invention. You decide.
> 
> Many thanks again to LuckyLadybug who helped me sort out a large problem I had with this chapter! Hope you enjoy!

"What is it this time, Tseng?" Sephiroth asked, wearily. He glanced out the window of Tseng's office. The sun had risen above the horizon a few hours ago, setting the edge of Midgar's massive steel plate to gleaming. He had yet to sleep. In a way, he envied Zack, now likely passed out, exhausted, in his quarters.

Tseng hit a button, electrically darkening the windows for privacy. Sephiroth closed the door and took up his place in the proffered chair, casting his gaze upon the row of monitors on the Turk's desk.

"Do you remember what Zack told us about the moments before Dr. Greg Davidson was killed?"

" _Before_ he was killed? Yes, he was simply talking to the man. The power went out, and Davidson was attacked."

Tseng nodded. "Watch this." He keyed the film and it began to play.

The image revealed the hidden camera to have been located in one of the far corners of Zack's cell, above the cot; it displayed a view of the majority of the cell, including a portion of the bed, as well as most of the line of bars and part of the hallway. As Sephiroth watched, the doctor stepped into view outside the cell, which prompted Zack to leave his position on the bed and near the bars.

Zack seemed to be in a relatively good mood, considering the situation, and Sephiroth knew from experience that Greg Davidson was a good man with a sense of humor. They chatted soundlessly for a few moments, while Sephiroth assumed the security guard was securing the codes necessary to power down the bars and let the doctor through.

In the middle of the conversation, however, Zack paused and cocked his head, almost as if listening to something. After a moment, the doctor noticed and appeared to inquire about it, but he was completely ignored. Zack's gaze drifted to the ceiling, and he seemed to track something moving across it. The doctor too, glanced upward, but apparently not seeing anything, frowned and tried to speak to Zack again.

Again, he was ignored. Finally, Zack turned in the direction of the camera, still following something. His eyes landed on the hidden device, and continued to stare at it for several long minutes.

Sephiroth frowned, unconsciously leaning forward. Zack's expression was strangely blank. And now that he was looking directly at the camera, his eyes …

The image blanked out. Sephiroth blinked in surprise. "The video … that's it?"

"That's when the power went out," Tseng confirmed. "Or rather, the lines to the surveillance system were cut shortly before the power died."

Sephiroth frowned. "Aren't the cameras connected to the same system?"

"They're powered separately. … Few people know of this." Tseng allowed the implications of the statement to hang in the air.

"Hmm." The General turned back to the screen. "Go back a few frames."

The image rewound, freezing on Zack's face. It was difficult to tell with the black and white image, but Zack's eyes appeared strangely dark. Black, almost, from this angle. Sephiroth suppressed a shudder. It was as if there was no life behind them.

He didn't know what to make of it. Did it hold any significance at all, or was it simply a trick of the camera? Avoiding the issue for the moment, he commented, "… It seems Zack heard something, before it attacked."

"Yes. And he behaved rather strangely, wouldn't you say?"

"… I suppose," he hedged. Indeed, it had been very strange, considering he hadn't even acknowledged the doctor, but what did that prove?

"There's more. Watch." Skipping back to a time much earlier in the day, Tseng presented a scene shortly after the books and Zack's requested take-out were delivered. They watched as the food was eaten, and as Zack grabbed a book from the top of the stack, replaced it with the empty carton, and examined it for a moment. Then he flipped it open to a random page and flopped onto his stomach on the bed to read.

Sephiroth continued to watch for several minutes, growing irritated when nothing strange appeared to happen. "Tseng, what is the point of this? Unless I'm missing something, nothing is happening."

"Exactly. Look."

Unsure of Tseng's point, he returned to the screen. Again, the result was the same. Zack had not even stood to stretch his legs. Sephiroth shook his head. "You might as well have paused it, Tseng. I fail to see what is so interesting."

"But that's the point. _I haven't paused it_."

"… I don't-"

"Watch what happens when I skip forward."

Curbing the urge to sigh in exasperation, Sephiroth kept his eyes trained on the screen. The time stamp leapt forward several minutes, then several hours. Still, there was no change. Sephiroth frowned. In fact, Zack didn't even move to turn the page. He remained motionless until Doctor Davidson arrived on the screen, clearly not sleeping, either.

Incredulous, Sephiroth spoke. "… You mean to tell me that he's been reading the same page for _hours_?"

Tseng nodded. "Or appearing to read the page."

"… Is there something wrong with the camera?"

"No. I've verified that they haven't been tampered with."

Sephiroth sat back in the chair, brow furrowed. "… What does this mean?"

"I wish I knew. You know Zack better than I, but this behavior seems quite … abnormal."

"Indeed." But what did it indicate? Zack had remained staring at the same page in the same book for hours, when he should have been practically bouncing around the cell in an attempt to burn off energy, or sprawling on the bed, asleep … He had somehow appeared to locate the hidden camera, follow something to it, even, shortly before it went out …

"I feel like this should be telling us something. But I do not know what that would be." Sephiroth found himself quite bothered by this turn of events. "It couldn't possibly indicate that Zack had something to do with the killing, could it? Simply staring at the camera could not make it go out. Nor could he have deactivated the power from his cell." Even as he proposed the idea, he felt foolish.

"I wouldn't think so. If anything, it does seem that perhaps he was listening to something crawl around in the ceiling. I will have someone check it out."

Slowly, Sephiroth nodded. "… And as for the rest of his behavior?"

Tseng shook his head. "As for that, I can't even speculate. That is something only Zack would know."

 _If that_ , Sephiroth mused, wryly. He suspected that Zack would claim he could not remember. Drained, Sephiroth rubbed his forehead. Even if Zack was not the killer, there was still _something_ wrong with him. He debated heading down now to wake his friend and attempt to get some answers.

Tseng's face softened just slightly as he regarded his long-time ally. To most, they were rivals, as Turks and SOLDIERs did not often get along, preferring not to cross paths at all, and often bickering when they did. SOLDIERs viewed Turks as having a lack of morals and honor; Turks viewed SOLDIERs as brutes with no finesse or intelligence. There was an ongoing competition between the two groups to see who was better, each trying to one-up the other.

Each leader knew of this, of course, and allowed it so long as it did not interfere with work. After all, competition was a good way to push people to be their best. But Sephiroth and Tseng possessed a deeper understanding of the other than that. There was a great respect between them, both professionally and personally. And so, though forced to keep their distance – Sephiroth, after all, was quite aware of who the Turk directly served – they were secret allies, often collaborating behind closed doors.

"You should get some sleep," Tseng recommended. "Zack will not be going anywhere, and you will be of no use to him if you are not alert."

Sephiroth grunted. "I thought you had the preliminary report for me?"

"I do." Tseng shifted though some papers on the desk and removed one to place in front of Sephiroth. "There are no revelations; he was killed the same as the others – massive trauma, coupled with long wounds made by something sharp. The killer seems to be … greedy, almost uncontrolled, in his actions." A note of distaste slipped into his voice. "Even a wild animal does not kill this way."

"Hmph. I wonder if one of Hojo's creations could very well be responsible. Would you say it is acting intelligently?"

"If not intelligently, then certainly cleverly. It succeeded in breaking into the First Class detention block, after all."

"Indeed," Sephiroth mused, thoughtfully. "Any theories on how?"

"We're still working on that. The only solution I have so far is that it is moving either through the ductwork or the false ceilings. It could potentially be avoiding surveillance that way."

"… And we know it looks like Zack."

"… Yes …"

"So it must be a copy," Sephiroth concluded. "But why? And who is responsible for creating it? Could Hojo have …?"

"… I wouldn't put it past him," Tseng replied, hesitantly. "But … General, you must not be so quick to dismiss the obvious."

"The obvious? What-"

"That it may still be Zack."

Sephiroth rubbed his temples. "Tseng …"

The Turk's voice sharpened. "You're letting your feelings for the boy influence your judgment, Sephiroth."

"We've been over this already-"

"Yes, but it remains _inconclusive_."

"He could not have killed Doctor Davidson; he was in his cell at the time."

"He was in his cell up until the power went out. _That is the only evidence we have._ I do not yet know how the power went out, but once it was, there was _nothing_ to prevent him from killing the doctor."

Sephiroth's eyes narrowed. "He told us what happened, Tseng."

"And you believe him?"

"I have no reason not to. He wouldn't _lie_ to me; he did not indicate that he was missing that part of his memory."

"He could just as easily have fabricated the story to protect himself from the truth. Rather than blanking it out, he may have created a different reality so he wouldn't have to face the horror of what he had really done-"

"You're saying he _is_ lying to me," Sephiroth growled.

"I'm saying he is lying to _himself_. Sephiroth, he was there for that murder. And we have footage of Zack actively murdering someone else."

Anger boiled within the General. "Why are you so quick to conclude that it is _Zack_ responsible, and not a copy?"

"Why are _you_ so quick to believe that it is otherwise?"

"Because I _know_ -"

Tseng stood. "Because you _know_ Zack? Because he is your _friend_? How many times do you think I've heard that in my line of work? Never once has it _ever_ protected a person. Not once." Tseng sighed. "Friendship only goes so far, Sephiroth."

 _Friendship only goes so far._ Oh, what Sephiroth wouldn't give to refute that. But Angeal and Genesis would have agreed with Tseng.

His fingers curled into a fist. "Very well. … I am forced to see that your logic is sound." He grit his teeth. " _However_ … there is still the matter of what disabled the cameras and cut the power."

Tseng nodded. _If Zack did not have a hand in that, as well._ "I expect to have more on that later today."

"Good." Sephiroth abruptly stood. "I will be in my quarters."

"I will call you if anything arises, General."

There was a nod, and Sephiroth swept from the room without another word.

* * *

The General's quarters were spacious and quiet – even the hum of the distant air handlers was too soft to disturb the peace. The apartment was located on a corner of the ShinRa building, bestowing upon the unit a large living room and a vaulted ceiling. Large windows on neighboring walls allowed late morning sunlight to flood the area, further enhancing the appearance of size. The simple furnishings only added to the effect.

But, down the hallway on the left, the light rapidly diminished, becoming lost to the shadows of the far room whose occupant was not yet ready to acknowledge the daylight. If possible, it was even quieter here; only the soft breathing of the form on the bed disturbed the still air.

Abruptly, the sharp ringing of the cell phone cut through the silence and wrenched Sephiroth unpleasantly from his sleep. With a groan, he swung his legs off the bed and snatched the offensive device from the nightstand. Once again, it was Tseng. He flipped the cell open.

"Tseng." Sephiroth's voice was slightly rough; he cleared his throat. "… Don't you ever sleep?"

"Only when I'm ordered to." Sephiroth could detect the amusement in the other's voice. "Is this the Sephiroth so famous for being awake and alert at the drop of a pin?"

Sephiroth grunted. "You'll forgive me if I'm not in the mood after only …" he checked the time, "… four hours of sleep in the past two days."

There was a light chuckle on the other end. "I apologize for waking you, General. But we have some additional information I thought you would like to know. It's not pressing yet, however, so if you'd rather, I can call back …"

"No … I'm awake now, and I doubt I will be getting much more sleep." It was already noon. Bright bands of light snuck in through the cracks in the heavy, dark blinds over the large window, to lay with insolence upon Sephiroth's bed and pillows, as if promising to defy any further attempts he might make to go back to sleep. He rubbed a hand across his eyes in an effort to banish the sluggishness from his mind. "Go ahead and tell me."

As Tseng began to speak, Sephiroth clicked on the phone's speaker so he could hear as he went about his morning routine, setting the device on the nightstand. Not bothering to turn on the lights, as he didn't need them, he located his hairbrush and proceeded to run it through his silver locks.

"First of all, we have been unable to determine any specific connection between the individuals murdered – other than having worked at ShinRa, of course. There is nothing in their jobs to conclusively relate them, and only two of the victims knew each other personally, and only as casual acquaintances."

Sephiroth grunted in response. "I guessed as much. With Dr. Davidson being one of the victims, it seemed unlikely that we would discover anything." Idly, he wondered if the murderer – assuming it was not Zack, himself – was attempting to target Zack. But if so, why had Zack not also been attacked? The murderer had had plenty of opportunity last night – four hours worth – in order to do it, with no interruption. What had held him back? Had he believed he would not have the time to do the deed before he was discovered? Was the goal simply to frame Zack, after all? _If so, it seems to be working,_ Sephiroth concluded grimly.

… There was also something else bothersome about the doctor being killed, something that was nagging at the back of Sephiroth's mind … but he wasn't quite able to pin down _why_.

The General took a few moments to echo these thoughts to Tseng. Tseng confirmed that he had had those same concerns, but also pointed out that the murderer not attacking Zack could be seen as further evidence that the culprit was indeed Zack, after all.

In pressing further, Tseng succeeded in getting Sephiroth to grudgingly agree, as much as he hated it. After all, in Sephiroth's initial inquiry into Zack's whereabouts during the previous murders, he had been unable to determine Zack's exact location. Once, Zack had left the office on the way to tackle a monster problem in the Slums, another time had occurred during a lunch break, and the third had occurred on a day when Zack had not been in the office at all, again due to monster problems. The fourth incident had occurred in the early morning – late enough for the usual morning work shift to have begun, but before the time Zack normally managed to drag himself to the office. He'd been unable to find a witness to pin down Zack's location during those times. But that in itself was not unusual – SOLDIERs were always running about on some errand or other. It didn't necessarily mean that Zack had been _butchering_ people on the sly.

"No, you're right, it doesn't," Tseng agreed. "However, it's important not to-"

"Not to discount any of the possibilities, yes, I know." By now, Sephiroth had finished his morning warm-up, and was in the process of throwing on his iconic leather coat. "… Do you have anything else for me, Tseng? I think it's time I visit Zack again, and then I wish to examine the murder locations myself."

"Actually, I do. I have just received detailed reports of the tissue samples taken from the first three victims. If you stop by, I can show them to you."

"… This isn't something you can simply tell me over the phone?"

"I could … but you may find this interesting."

" _Interesting_." Sephiroth smirked. "Isn't everything you show me _interesting_ , lately, Tseng?"

There was a grunt of amusement. "Indeed. But, I also have coffee, and not ShinRa's normal repulsive cocktail, either."

"Bribery will get you nowhere," Sephiroth stated, as he picked up the phone and headed for the door.

"No, but coffee might get _you_ somewhere."

"I'll see you in a few minutes."

The phone snapped shut as he left the apartment.

* * *

Indeed, the coffee was a welcome distraction from the weary thoughts weighing on his mind, Sephiroth mused. Though he was normally adverse to it, as the stimulant had a powerful effect on a SOLDIER's system – usually just the pungent smell was enough for Sephiroth. The SOLDIER metabolism processed the substance quickly, leaving the effects of the caffeine strong but short … but he occasionally preferred a cup, especially now, operating on so little sleep.

He had to thank Zack for introducing him to it, actually … There had been a time when he would not touch the stuff, despite long hours spent processing reports or dealing with monsters. He had barely been able to tolerate the smell; would only gulp down the vile, black liquid as a last resort when nothing else would keep him awake. He could not fathom how Zack had been able to run through mug after mug of the stuff – maybe his sensitive SOLDIER sense of taste had simply burnt out after overexposure to the extremely bitter liquid.

And then, one day in Wutai, just before he was about to bite the bullet yet again and drink it black, Zack (or _Fair_ , as he had called the young SOLDIER at the time) had wandered into his tent. It had been cold and raining again, and the boy's bangs had been plastered to his forehead, but he was grinning like the sun, clutching two large, steaming mugs as if they were a lifeline.

He'd said that he didn't know how Seph like his coffee, so he just made it the same way he did his own – with generous heaps of sugar and plenty of cream. Indeed, the mug he cheerfully presented his glowering General with was filled with something that was light tan in color, and certainly not the black sludge Sephiroth was used to drinking.

After finally overcoming his suspicions and taking a sip, Sephiroth was pleasantly surprised to note that, not only did it _not_ taste awful, it was actually rather good, if a bit too sweet for his tastes. In interrogating Zack about it, the boy had laughed and said that no SOLDIER in his right mind would ever drink his coffee black. That was why ShinRa kept sending crates of cream and sugar out to the Front. Surely, as General, Sephiroth would have known this essential fact about coffee long before now?

Clearly he hadn't, Sephiroth had responded, somewhat tersely. But he was unable to remain sharp with the young SOLDIER, grateful as he was for the discovery. He came to look forward to Zack's visits, and for more reasons than just the coffee.

Now, as Sephiroth fixed his drink, he found himself once again missing Zack's presence. He hoped that, between him and Tseng and the men they had working on the case, this matter would be put to rest quickly.

Tseng watched, amused, as Sephiroth emptied the remainder of the container of cream into his mug and stirred in several large spoonfuls of sugar. But he refrained from commenting, aware of the SOLDIER's quirks of taste.

Finished, Sephiroth sipped from his mug and faced the Turk. "The reports?"

Tseng laid out three papers on the table. "I wanted to get your opinion on these. I know you are familiar with the scientific terms and am interested in whatever conclusions you may draw."

Sephiroth frowned, setting his drink aside and picking up one of the reports. "You could have simply consulted one of the scientists. Didn't they detail the findings for you?"

"Yes, but I want an objective opinion."

The General raised an eyebrow. If a scientist's opinion wasn't objective enough, he didn't see how his could be, but he didn't comment, instead scanning the document.

The contents listed a more thorough breakdown of the condition of the body at the time it was found than that given in the initial report, as well as including a complete coroner's report. It went on to describe how some of the internal organs had been … mangled, for lack of a better word, and listed the results of tests identifying various substances found on the remains. Sephiroth frowned as he reached this part.

"… On several of the wounds there were found several bacterial species not normally present on the human body …" he scanned the list, "… other foreign cellular material, and … traces of the enzyme amylase …?" Incredulously, he glanced up at Tseng. "Do you know what this is?"

"I was hoping to hear your conclusions."

"It's … saliva, I believe." He spoke in disbelief, as if hesitant to trust his own deduction. "Amylase is an enzyme found in saliva, which would also explain the bacteria and foreign cellular material … indeed, it seems the scientists had arrived at the same conclusion … But that would mean …" He set the report to the side in revulsion. "Whoever killed those people was attempting to _eat_ them."

Tseng nodded. "Or gnaw on them, at any rate – there wasn't anything _missing_ , necessarily, but several of the organs had been destroyed in a manner that could be consistent with an animal mauling. … Albeit, a very extreme animal mauling."

"Then it would mean that, unless …" No, he would not even allow his thoughts to continue down that route. "It would _have_ to mean that what is doing this is not human! It cannot be Zack … and not even a copy, then. Perhaps one of Hojo's creatures has broken loose after all."

"I am beginning to suspect as much myself," Tseng began, though still with reservations in his tone. "And it would explain these …" Here, he handed Sephiroth a small, clear cylindrical container. "… But it still does not explain everything."

Sephiroth took the container, examining the contents intently. It contained a handful of hairs. Each one was about two to three inches long, and they were relatively stiff, tan in color, with a band of black around the base. They were clearly not human hair.

"… These were found on all the bodies?" he asked, turning the container over in his hand.

"Yes. As were indications of the saliva."

"Have DNA samplings been done yet?"

Tseng nodded. "As of yet, the scientists can only tell me that the cellular material is mammalian. They have not yet matched it to the monster database – or to Hojo's list of creations – but the numbers are still running. As you may guess, with the high percentage of Mako-induced mutation among the monster population, it may take time to narrow the results to a match with a reasonable amount of accuracy … if that is even possible."

"But the DNA is not _human_?"

"No. Unless …"

"Unless what?"

"… Well … As I said, mutation rates throw much into doubt."

Sephiroth grunted, considering the information. Finally, he spoke. "Regardless of what it once was, we know now that the creature doing the killing is some kind of monster." As he said the words, a sense of relief fell upon him that, again, Zack had to be innocent. A monster was something real, something concrete … something he could easily stop with his own hands. He did not know what he could have done if Zack had been at fault.

The General stood. "I will mobilize the other SOLDIERs and have them search the building. We need something that can detect the creature's movement through the walls …"

"The canine unit?" Tseng offered.

A nod. "Perhaps. Do you have enough hair from the creature to produce a detectable scent?"

"I will see if the scientists can produce something."

"Do that." Sephiroth paused as another thought occurred to him. "… I cannot believe I am suggesting this, but … can any of Scarlet's war machines be modified to track based on a specific DNA signature?"

Mildly surprised at the suggestion, and that he hadn't thought of it himself, Tseng considered. "… I … believe that should be possible. Yes …" He nodded. "I will see what I can do."

As Sephiroth acknowledged him and was about to sweep from the room, Tseng grabbed him by the arm.

"But, Sephiroth … You're overlooking one important thing." At the General's expression of inquiry, he continued. "The video of Zack snapping that worker's neck. That cannot be explained by this evidence! This creature may have mangled the body after the deed, but …" He shook his head. "It was still Zack who committed _that_ crime."

Inwardly, Sephiroth cursed. How could he have forgotten? Tseng was right, he truly _was_ letting his feelings cloud his judgment. Now he had to consider that there were both a monster _and_ a copy loose within the building, as well as something abnormal with Zack's behavior …

… No. It was too extreme to believe that both a monster _and_ a clone of Zack were responsible. The video evidence, the physical evidence … They pointed strictly to two possibilities. One was a monster. The other was Zack. Of course, a copy could still be possible, but that was spreading reality a bit too thin, especially when he considered that he knew for a certainty that it was Zack acting strangely within at least one video.

Sephiroth shut his eyes. _Damn it._ If anything, everything had just become more complicated. None of this was making sense! _Why, Zack …_

"… Sephiroth …"

The General straightened, opening his eyes. "Zack is secured within his quarters for the moment. We will tackle this monster first and worry about him later." His tone was cold and professional, the words clipped.

Tseng hesitated, then allowed his hand to drop from Sephiroth's arm. "Of course. I will see to it that things at my end are taken care of. Notify me when you have deployed your SOLDIERs."

"I will. You may wish to alert the President – it wouldn't do for him to be _unduly inconvenienced_ by our search."

The Turk nodded, and Sephiroth left the room, already lifting his phone to send out the orders, and heading back to his quarters to retrieve Masamune.

* * *

When he finished the briefing, Sephiroth divided his SOLDIERs among the sectors of the building to begin the search. Each First would be accompanied by two Seconds, who would provide materia support – they would be sent to the sectors where the monster had struck in the past, and the sectors directly surrounding those. The Thirds would deploy to the further corners of the building, with orders to contain the monster within the area and call for backup; they were not to directly engage unless threatened, or to protect others. The infantrymen were to secure the building exits, while the canine unit would provide a roaming search. Two of the more mechanical-minded SOLDIERs Sephiroth sent to Tseng to aid with the conversion of the war machines.

With that decided, Sephiroth set out to speak with Zack. He needed some questions answered … questions that he wasn't sure Zack would have the answers to. The footage, the missing soldiers, the monster … Were they all related somehow? Or was it all just a horrible coincidence, Zack's erratic behavior coinciding with a chance monster infestation?

He checked the time – it was late afternoon. Zack should probably be up by now. And if he wasn't, he was in for a rude awakening – Sephiroth had with him a copy of the video footage. Much as he disliked the idea of showing it to his friend, there was a chance that it could jog his memory. And afterward, the General would join the search for the creature.

Arriving on the level of Zack's apartment, Sephiroth exited the elevator and strode down the familiar path to his friend's quarters. A right turn, followed by a left, and he was brought to the hallway that ended with Zack's door. The two infantrymen he had stationed there snapped to attention as he neared.

"At ease." He regarded the two; they seemed alert. "Any unusual activity?"

"No, sir," one of them said. "It's been quiet in there all day."

He nodded. "Good. You may both take an hour break. I will take things from here."

They glanced at each other in disbelief of their good fortune. The other one said, "Thank you, sir!" and with a salute, both began to retreat down the hallway.

Sephiroth smiled to himself in amusement, sliding his card into the locking device and beginning to key in the code. But then he heard something that gave him pause.

There was a faint … _pattering_ sound. It sounded like it was some distance above him. Frowning, he called to the infantrymen, "Wait," and held up a hand. They paused, turned around, regarding him with puzzlement. But he wasn't paying attention to them, did not even bother to ask whether they heard it – they likely could not, without the benefit of the SOLDIER hearing he possessed. He tilted his head, focusing on the sound.

It paused for a moment, started up again, then became a short _swoosh_ , as of something sliding on metal, followed by a clatter that rapidly grew in volume. There was a loud _thump_ , and Sephiroth quickly stepped back, regarding the ceiling tile above him. There was no doubt about it – something was up there.

Swiftly drawing Masamune, he speared it into the ceiling. Apparently, he missed; whatever it was quickly scrabbled away and pattered back down the hallway.

"Back to your posts," he barked, sending the guards scurrying, and took off after the creature. It made a right; he followed.

Suddenly, the noise stopped, and Sephiroth slid to a halt, straining his ears. It was somewhere above him … was it hiding, hoping that Sephiroth could not find it? Ever so quietly, he paced the length of the hallway, listening intently.

There was the slight shift of a ceiling tile. There it was, behind him. He turned, carefully stepping toward it, eyes glued to the tile above. Quietly, he adjusted his grip on the sword … then abruptly swung it up and around, cleaving clear through the panels.

They came down with a clatter and a cloud of dust. Something screamed in inhuman fury, then took off through the ducts before Sephiroth was able to catch a glimpse of it. It made a beeline for the far wall, even as Sephiroth followed, struck the end of the passageway with a _bang_ , then dropped, rattling its way down, behind the wall.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes as it made its escape to the lower levels. Quickly, he flipped out his phone, calling up the First in the sector it was headed.

The phone picked up on the first ring. "Sir?"

"Bail, it's headed your way through the west wall, descending rapidly. Alert the others; be prepared for a confrontation." The General examined the tip of his sword, which dripped a small amount of blood. "It's wounded; I cannot say to what extent. Keep me updated on its location."

"Yes, sir, right away."

Ending the call, Sephiroth strode in the direction of the elevator, even as he dialed another number. After a long moment, during which he was afraid the call would not be answered, the line picked up.

"… Seph …?" came the groggy voice of his friend.

"Zack. Are you alright?" He spoke quickly.

"Huh? Yeah, I've been asleep …" The words were slightly slurred, indicating that he was still not fully awake.

"We're tracking a creature that is likely responsible for the killings." _Most of them._ "It was near your apartment just a moment ago; I wanted to make sure it hadn't gotten inside."

Instantly, Zack became alert. "A creature? No, nothing's been here that I know of. Where did it go? Is it still here?"

"It's currently descending through the levels. I am going after it right now. Keep alert; if you hear or see anything strange, notify me immediately. It's traveling through the air ducts."

"Right. Be careful! I'd go with you if I could, but, you know … kinda tied up at the moment," he joked.

Sephiroth gave a slight smile. "The sentiment is appreciated, Zack. Just look after yourself. I'll keep you informed of the situation."

"Will do! Good luck, Seph."

The phone snapped shut. Sephiroth entered the elevator. He hoped Tseng was making good progress on the mecha units – they might have need of them before too long, now that the creature was on the run. He vowed that he would stop it, whatever it was, before it had a chance to kill someone else.

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	8. Zack's Journal, Day 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> For those who find Zack's journal entries boring, hopefully this will one be slightly more interesting!

You know, ever since Harley came back with that freaky report, I've been kinda feeling uneasy about this whole place.

I know it doesn't make sense. I mean, a monster's a monster, right? Even the ones hyped up on Mako and Lifestream aren't anything to be especially afraid of – they're just stronger, faster, and meaner. But that's why we've got Firsts. That's why I'm here. And two Thirds to back me up aren't anything to sneeze at, either.

But … Oh, I dunno. Maybe I'm starting to get restless. Cabin fever setting in, or something.

The guys seem to feel it too, though. Everyone glancing over their shoulders, looking twice into shadows we're already familiar with … There's some kinda tension here, but no one knows why.

I've been trying to dismiss the whole thing, lighten up the mood. Everyone plays along, but they all know what I'm doing. Just trying to make each other feel better, I guess. We can see it in each other's eyes, though, that … wary look. Like something's out there. Something's going on that we can sense but not see.

Angeal spoke to me once about a SOLDIER's senses. Said they were important, to trust your feelings. I always thought I had, but now I'm wondering, how do I know what it is I'm really feeling? How do I know it isn't just me? And if it is something, what the heck do I do about it? I dunno what they're trying to tell me.

… Leave this place.

Maybe that's it.

But I can't. I've got a mission to do.

Anyway, about Harley's report … We'd gone scouting again, trying to locate the monsters, any sign of the people who have vanished, evidence of their remains … heck, even a Lifestream spring that might be the source of any mutations. Again we'd split up into groups. And again, we didn't do much more than struggle through the forest and knock off the occasional monster.

Thankfully, we didn't have any more swarm problems!

Well, about … mid-afternoon, I guess, I had everyone take a break back at the temple complex. We were all getting irritable at the lack of progress, and Allen was starting to develop blisters that needed to be treated, anyway. It's too easy to do that here, with all the humidity! We've taken to drying our socks out over the fire at night, otherwise they'd still be wet the next morning.

Harley had stepped away from the group to get some fresh air. … If I'd been thinking, I would have sent someone with him, but I figured he could use some space after bickering with Stover about something stupid, which I can't remember at the moment, so I let him go.

I think it was probably about ten minutes later that he came running back, as white as a ghost.

He said he hadn't gone too far from the clearing, just a few minutes out, when he'd stumbled onto what he thought was the freshly-killed carcass of a wild boar, and something else standing over it.

The "something else" was almost as large as the boar, he said, but thinner, with thick, tan fur, a long, furry tail, and large, alert ears. It had relatively long arms and legs, but it was crouched down, with its front claws buried in the animal. The thing that really spooked Harley, though, was that when he first saw it, he thought it had the head of a boar. But when it whipped around to stare at him, the head was clearly much shorter and more catlike, with a little muzzle and nose, and large eyes in a black face.

And the eyes … they were solid black too.

When it saw him, Harley said it scrunched up its face in fury, narrowed its eyes, and opened its mouth wide, baring needle-sharp teeth in a piercing hiss. It scuttled rapidly toward him, and Harley was afraid it was going to attack. He hadn't had his weapon ready, so he fumbled with it, trying to bring it up to aim at the thing … when it suddenly quickened its pace, galloped forward … and leapt past him into the trees.

I asked him why he used "scuttled" as the word to describe the way it moved, if it was some kind of large cat. That's when he said that it wasn't a cat at all – the long legs had been splayed out to the side in a very unnatural manner. They'd only properly drawn under it when it broke into a run. He'd never seen an animal move like that before, and had no idea what it was.

He called it unnatural. Said that the thing's face reminded him of something, but couldn't quite place what it was.

In going over to examine the boar, he described the wretched thing as having been carelessly ripped apart. Obviously, the kill was recent, otherwise it might have been difficult to identify. The head was still intact, as was the general form of the body … but it was easy to tell that, given a few more minutes, the other creature would have obliterated even that. Harley had never seen an animal kill like that. It was so … wasteful.

I wasn't quite sure what to make of that story. Cleary, the thing that had unnerved him the most was the strange creature's face, especially the "soulless, black eyes."

Was this the monster we were looking for? I supposed it could be possible. Rounding the guys up, I had Harley lead us in the direction of that small clearing. Upon reaching it, we found were the boar was supposed to be … only it wasn't there anymore.

Strange, it had only been a few minutes since he'd told us …

There was certainly plenty of blood from the kill. And a clear trail, looking like something large and heavy had been dragged through the underbrush. So we followed it … right to where it abruptly ended, maybe twenty yards away. We looked for where it had to have gone, but, somehow, the trail just ended.

I'm no tracking expert, but that seemed a little … impossible.

N'kim thought it was strange too, and he seemed a little spooked himself.

We branched out from that point, splitting up into our respective groups to attempt to hunt the monster down. But two hours later, we still hadn't found it. Heard some strange, laughing calls bouncing back and forth in the trees, but didn't see much of anything.

When we returned, we found that our campsite was a mess – food packages scattered about and torn into, bedding shredded and packs ripped, our fire pit demolished. And dang … even our emergency radio equipment was destroyed! There was no telling what did it, but clearly the critters around here were getting too comfortable with our presence in the area.

I had the thought that the creature we'd been tracking had intentionally led us away, but that was ridiculous. It was just a coincidence, though a very _inconvenient_ one. The guys were furious.

Took us a good hour to locate everything and straighten things out. After taking stock of things, we discovered a good third of our remaining food stores ruined or missing. Thankfully, they hadn't gotten everything. The sleeping bags and packs could be repaired, but it would take some time. And we were missing a small cooking pot. Hammerson was particularly ticked off about that – it had been part of his camping supplies.

From then on I decided that there'd be no more feeding of any of the animals, including the little furry things that had been running around. Didn't know if they were at fault, and I was a bit sad to see them go, but I didn't want to take any more chances. I told everyone to chase them away if they came too close.

All that took up the rest of the evening. We rebuilt the fire pit and scrounged enough together to cook up a halfway decent meal, and called it a night. Our usual audience of mini furries appeared again, hoping for handouts, but we threw rocks at them to chase them away. They chittered angrily at us and ran off. Poor guys. I could see them peering back at us from their perches out there in the dark, little violet eyes glittering in the firelight.

I took first watch again, N'kim joining me. The forest is more vocal tonight. For the first time since we left the village, there's something out there mimicking a man's scream again. I wonder if it's just another kree'ak. Gaia, it's the spookiest thing. If I hadn't known any better, I'd think it was …

Nah, there's nobody else out there. Shouldn't be, anyway, since we've yet to see evidence of anyone. And that's strange too. I mean, where did everybody go? Sure, the jungle is thick enough to swallow up anything that runs into it, but we've been searching for four days now. N'kim's a good tracker and even he hasn't led us to much.

I don't …

Huh. Just now got back from investigating some odd sounds. Thought I heard a couple people whispering out there, so me and N'kim stole out to check. We burst through a few bushes out near one of the other temple structures, only to find a pair of those furries. They stared at us in startlement for a second, then scampered off in silence.

Guess I must be hearing things.

Can't remember what it was I was going to say before, so I guess I'll just wake Hammerson and turn in.

I'll be glad when this mission is over. Things are starting to get to me.

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	9. Zack's Journal, Day 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yes, another entry from Zack. Honestly, I fully planned on alternating the chapters all the way to the end, but it turned out that this one had to come next, for the sake of the story. Hope you find it interesting! I know I do. ;)
> 
> Thanks so much to LuckyLadybug for help on this chapter!

There's something wrong with Stover.

I don't know what the heck his problem is, but he's been antagonistic ever since that argument a couple days ago with Harley. I know we're all stressed out, but Stover seems to be taking everything personal. He's kinda freaking me out – one minute he'll be perfectly fine, laughing at a joke by one of the others … and then he'll just snap. Nearly crushed Allen's hand when he tried to take a bit of food he thought Stover wasn't gonna eat.

And the thing is, he doesn't even act like anything's wrong. He'll just shrug his shoulders and ask, "What?" as if what he was doing was perfectly normal. How am I supposed to respond to that?

This morning I finally sat him down and gave him a talking to, but he just _hmm'd_ and shrugged, and otherwise acted totally indifferent to what I was saying. I had no idea how I was supposed to handle that, so I finally got angry and told him I was gonna confine him to camp if he didn't shape up and start acting like a SOLDIER.

And you know what he said? He just said, "Okay," and _walked away from me_.

I think something snapped in me at that point.

I grabbed him by the back of his uniform and physically hauled him back to the temple, past the other guys who watched in astonishment, up the steps, and threw him to the ground. I told him that unless he wanted to go toe-to-toe with me, with a sword, he'd better not move _one inch_ from that spot, and he better be waiting there when we get back, or else he's gonna wish he was facing _Sephiroth_ instead of me.

I think that finally got through to him. He got this ugly glare on his face, but didn't say anything and stayed where he was. And he had the sense to stay there while the rest of us made an early lunch, though I could feel his eyes watching us. Everyone else was unusually quiet; I think they were afraid of getting on my bad side if they said anything. I suppose I was probably fuming, but the guys acting like they were walking on eggshells around me didn't improve my temper any.

Gaia, he'd better still be there by the time we get back. That's all I've got to say. I'm jumpy enough as it is, and I don't need his attitude. Whole forest feels like it's watching us.

* * *

Stover's dead.

 _Gaia …_

I killed him.

But I didn't have a choice, I –

I just …

We got back from a scouting trip, and he wasn't there, and I got angry, and I looked for him. And then, when my back was turned, he ambushed the other guys.

 _He ambushed them._

We split up, you see, and N'kim was with me, and Hammerson was on the other end of the clearing with the troops. And Stover leapt from the top of one of the other buildings and _attacked_ them.

By the time I got there, Harley was already beat pretty bad and down for the count. Hammerson was trying to fend Stover off with his sword, but Stover was just waling on him, and there was no way Hammerson was gonna win. Allen was clear off to the side, aiming his rifle, but hesitant to shoot.

I gave a shout and was in there in a flash, knocking Stover's blade to the side and sending him head-over-heels with a good whack from the Buster. I asked him what on Earth he thought he was doing, but it was like he'd gone mad! He just came at me again.

I tried talking him down, I swear I did. But he didn't listen! He was like some wild animal. He attacked so recklessly and wildly that even _I_ had a hard time keeping up with him. I finally disarmed him.

… But it wasn't enough. Gaia …

He just didn't stop. I shouted for someone to use their Seal, put him to sleep, but no one carried any.

I was prepared to just keep beating him back until he ran out of steam, but suddenly he turned, ran, grabbed his sword, and was a split second away from plunging it into Harley.

No one saw it coming.

I reacted with the only thing I could.

One bolt from a mastered Lighting. That's all it took.

And he was dead.

Gaia … _forgive me_. I didn't know what else to do!

One of my men is dead, by my own hands.

I've failed them. I've failed Angeal. I've failed Sephiroth!

I just … I don't know what went wrong!

Oh, Gaia …

* * *

… I guess I'll head back to the troops now. I had to get some distance from them, find someplace to be alone … It wouldn't do any good if they saw me break down. It's been a while since I …

… I've been trying to figure out whether we should just leave. With one man down, I feel like we shouldn't push ourselves to complete the mission. But would it be better for us, for Stover's memory, if we kept going? If we left, there're still all those missing people, and SOLDIER would just have to send another team at some point, or let people continue to vanish. I can't let that happen. And I can't let what happened to us happen to another team.

Even if I don't know what happened to us.

Walker and N'kim are examining Stover right now, to see if they can figure out what went wrong with him.

I don't expect them to find anything.

… It probably doesn't matter, but those dang furries are starting to freak me out. They're always _watching_ us. I get the feeling that they're still there, even when we can't see them.

… On the way out here, after … after _that_ , I heard someone quietly yelling, "Help!" And not like those bird calls that kinda sound like it, but something that sounded really human. I grabbed my sword and dashed through the bushes … but couldn't find anything.

Then I noticed two of those furries scampering along a tree branch. One of them paused to look at me, cocked its head, and then said, "Help." I wasn't sure I was hearing what I was hearing, but then it said it again. What happened next gave me the shivers.

It spoke again … but this time with Harley's voice. "Stover, what are you doing? Stop. Stop!" Then it made a sort of chittering, high-pitched, laughing sort of sound, cocked its head the other way, and spoke, in Hammerson's voice, "Stover! What's wrong with you!" blinking innocently at me all the while, as if it was simply hoping for a snack.

I felt sick. Those things could imitate human voices. At any other time I might have been thrilled, but … Not this time. I turned away in disgust. I wasn't in the mood for any of this.

What it said next stopped me in my tracks.

It spoke in my own voice.

"Zack." I turned around to stare at it. Its violet eyes gazed back at mine, for a full minute. Then it asked, "Where's Stover?"

For the second time that day, something snapped, and I saw red. In a fury, I whipped my sword around … and killed it.

The second critter froze, staring at its dead companion. Then the fur around its face blackened in rage, and it screamed. It spun, lunged toward my face; I ducked … and it fled into the forest.

I whirled, staring after it. I remember gripping my sword so tightly that my hands ached. I remember breathing hard and gritting my teeth until a sharp twinge in my jaw brought me back to my senses, and I looked back upon the creature that I had killed. I felt nothing, except anger eating into my heart.

As I write this, I … I can't believe I did that. At the time, I … I just wanted to stop it. I didn't want it to imitate our voices. I didn't want it to ask me _that_. I didn't want it to ask me how I was going to explain this to Seph, or what I was going to say to Stover's mom … I didn't …

So I killed it. How could I …?

I didn't even care at the time, as I walked away.

But now … I feel sick.

What am I doing? I can't afford to lose it like this.

I need to lead the troops. I need to get back there, tell them what we're going to do now. They're waiting for me.

But … I don't know what to do.

Help me, Angeal … It was never supposed to be this way!

What do I do?

I guess … one more day. We've gotta do our best. For Stover, and the missing people and the other soldiers I don't want sent back out here.

But no more than that. There's still no evidence of anything out here, really. No super monsters. I don't know what happened to that thing Harley saw, but it hasn't come back. Maybe he just misidentified something. Unless we see something by the end of tomorrow, that's it. We'll head back. Otherwise, there's no telling when we might be done. You could spend forever out here just looking, and never find anything.

One more day.

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	10. Awakening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter didn't end quite the way I expected - I was going to keep going, but it demanded the ending that I gave it, so there you go. I'll give a warning for violence in this chapter - I haven't written anything too explicit, but you may find it disturbing. Again, there is a reason this story is in the Horror category!
> 
> Hope you all enjoy, and thanks again to LuckyLadybug for help!

_It's not human. Nor does it move like a human – it is too quick, too nimble in its movements through the ducts. But it must be roughly the size of a human … much larger and it would not fit, though could be as small as half the size, judging from the sounds it makes. To move so quickly, it must be making heavy use of its arms, indicating that it is quadrupedal, or at least comfortable enough to move as such … Its upper body strength must be greater than a human's, for its size at any rate, in order to scale the walls at speed; likely, equal or better strength in its lower body, as well …_

Sephiroth stood, silently, in the doorway of a darkened lobby leading to several offices. The only light came from a single, dim, fluorescent bulb in a hallway ceiling panel behind him, which cast his shadow into the room, and the lamp upon the secretary's desk, forgotten in the haste of evacuation. He had followed the creature here and had, for the moment, lost track of it. As his eyes pierced the dark corners of the room, he mentally reviewed what he knew of the creature.

 _Hearing better than average, unknown whether it surpasses that of a SOLDIER. Possibility of excellent night vision, adequate sense of smell, sharp teeth and claws …_

Sharp eyes caught on a few strands of hair snagged near the base of a potted plant across the room.

 _… And it is furry._ He frowned at the slight sounds of rustling beyond one of the other doorways. _Also, likely hungry. Intelligence unknown._

During the course of the past two hours, the ShinRa building had been methodically evacuated as the SOLDIERs tracked the movement of the creature through the air ducts. The building had slowly become vacant as the SOLDIERs cleared the sectors in its path.

After having lost the creature near Zack's apartment, Sephiroth, with the aid of SOLDIER's canine unit, finally located it on the current level. He had ordered the unit to stay behind; the dogs, though Mako-enhanced, would likely have given away his position. They were more effective against people, rather than monsters, in any case.

A short while ago, he had received an unwelcome call from Tseng, notifying him that the Turk had left with the President and his son upon their private chopper for the secondary base at Junon. It was unwelcome news, not because of the sudden absence of the President, but because of Tseng's forced absence – Sephiroth needed the man's expertise here, where he was most useful. But the Turk's primary duties lay with protecting the President; likely, the large man had finally felt threatened by the creature roaming through the building, and chose to abandon his fellow coworkers to fend for themselves. Though Sephiroth was irritated, the situation wasn't without its advantages – he preferred to be left to his own devices.

Free to finally evacuate the rest of the building, Sephiroth had the infantry see to it that all nonessential personnel were escorted out. But this would take a while – even with the sectors that had already been cleared, the building was so large that it would not be done quickly. With the evacuation being done in stages to ensure some measure of order, this would take even longer.

But, regardless, it was being done. Sephiroth had the main lights shut off to indicate vacant levels, leaving only emergency lighting in their stead. So, for once, much of the building was dark and quiet, a contrast to the normal flurry of activity from the heart of a metropolis that was rarely still.

The sudden _hum_ of the chiller on a water cooler in the corner startled him from his thoughts, and the rustle in the other room ceased. He gazed attentively beyond the doorway.

 _Even now, the building is not silent,_ he thought, wryly.

Casting his gaze about the lobby, he made sure that the creature did not intend to double back, before stepping forward.

This was one of the nicer lobbies of the ShinRa building, located in a division where the wealthier paper-pushers and money-handlers sat. Plush carpet, dark red in the light, lay upon the generous, circular space, and a single, sleek secretary's desk set near one wall on the left. Doorways, two on each side of the desk, led to the offices, while across from them stood a wrought iron railing that transformed the area into a balcony and separated it from a carpeted stairway descending to a lounge and additional offices below.

An expansive wall of curved windows beyond the railing and stairway allowed a broad vista of the glittering lights of the city, far below them. The windows had been darkened earlier against the sun, and remained that way, already giving the illusion of the deep Midgar night that was rapidly descending upon them.

As he entered the room, Sephiroth cast a last, quick look into the hallway behind him, then turned his gaze upon the shadows cloaking the corners. The smooth, polished wooden surface of the desk was bright, gleaming in the light of the lamp, but that was all the lamp really illuminated. The light died upon the nearest walls, leaving hooded spectres looming in the furthest reaches of the room, and pools of blackness spilling out from beneath the desk. The lounge below and beyond the railing was a pit into which no light reached at all.

He knew nothing was there, of course – the creature was in the office furthest from him – but scanned the room out of habit. Slowly, he advanced, ears straining for the sound of any movement. But other than a lingering gurgle from the water cooler, he heard nothing.

At the doorway to the office, Sephiroth was confronted with a matrix of cubicles. The emergency lighting in here consisted only of a single light in the bank upon the ceiling, much like the dim bulb in the hallway. The walls of the cubicles left most of the small spaces in shadow. His left hand tightened upon the hilt of the Masamune, and he raised it slightly, in preparation.

Finally, he heard a shuffle upon one of the desks hidden from view. Swiftly, but with soft footsteps, he advanced around the perimeter of the cubicles toward the one in question. After a moment, he came upon a desk with its surface in complete disarray. The monitor screen was broken, wires to the mouse and keyboard severed and gnawed, and the remainders of a wrapped sandwich scattered all over. Crumpled papers from the trashcan littered the floor, and a step to the side revealed that the cushions in the seat and back of the chair had been torn, the stuffing pried out and left among the floor with the rest of the garbage. There was no sign of the creature itself.

It was nothing Sephiroth hadn't expected from a wild animal. But what he hadn't foreseen were the torn remains of a photograph on the corner of the desk. Its frame lay on the floor, glass shattered and wood splintered from when the creature had attempted to pry the image out. A chunk of the photograph was missing, snagged by the broken glass, and it had been crumpled, scored, and punctured by sharp claws. This was strange enough, but even stranger – and somewhat unsettling, he thought, as he carefully picked it up – was that the faces of the people in the photograph had been removed, only ragged holes left behind.

He frowned. What kind of creature would do this? Was it intelligent? But what kind of intelligence would prompt such behavior? Was it obsessed? Deranged? Mad?

Further inspection of the trash on the floor revealed pages from a calendar, the faces of people in the images also torn off.

 _Strange._

A sudden, metallic _clank_ caught his attention, and he stepped back just as the trashcan beneath the desk tipped over and clattered to the floor. He took a second step back for good measure, knelt for a look at the underside of the desk … only to find a large hole gnawed into the heavy fabric of the cubicle divider.

Quickly, he stepped around to the other cubicle, only to be presented with another messy, but otherwise empty desk. He frowned.

An abrupt movement out of the corner of his eye prompted him to glance upward. He only had time for a split-second view of a dark, furry mass gathered at the top of the cubicle wall, before it sprang with a sharp snarl, wicked teeth and claws clutching for his face.

It was only heightened SOLDIER reactions that saved him. He jerked away, backhanding the creature to the floor. But its heavy mass caused him to continue a backward stumble, and a sharp line of fire along his left wrist and forearm let him know that he hadn't come away unscathed.

Almost before he could recover, a stabbing pain caught his left calf in a vise-like grip, and abruptly yanked him forward. He was brought down to a knee, the creature having locked its jaw around his leg and punched sharp teeth through the heavy leather of his boot.

As it tried to secure its position by raking claws into his leg and wrenching its head to the side to finish taking Sephiroth down, the General, though limited by space, frantically brought Masamune down across the back of its neck.

With a rumbling squeal, the creature instantly released him and jumped away before Sephiroth could finish the cut. It landed in a crouch, entire muzzle and face scrunched up, and solid black eyes narrowed to furious slits as it bared long fangs at him. With a scream, it lunged forward again … only for the General, fully prepared this time, to present it with a Fire spell straight to its face.

The creature howled, tumbling to the ground. It rolled away, scrambled to its feet, and flew back through the room and out the door, thick flames eating through its fur. A loud _thump_ and _bang_ followed, with, a moment later, a heavy _crash_. Then there was nothing.

Adrenaline pumping, Sephiroth stared in the direction it had gone, as the acrid stench of burned fur and flesh filled the room. Small fires licked the carpet.

A sudden throb from his leg finally drew Sephiroth's attention to it. Rearranging into a less awkward position, he bent forward to examine the injury as best he could, eyes narrowed against the pain. The leather of his boot bore large punctures, though remained mostly intact, having resisted tearing when the creature pulled away. His pants were less fortunate; the creature's claws had easily torn into the thinner material and left the lower part in shreds. Long gashes scored his leg; blood seeped through the tears in the leather and dripped steadily onto the carpet.

Hissing, he carefully peeled the ragged strips of leather to the side and prodded the injury to determine how deep the gashes were. … They hadn't made it to the bone, but they were serious. He'd have to use a Restore before continuing, and quickly. Though the best practice was to clean the wound before applying materia, he didn't have time. He'd have to hope that the Mako in his blood would take care of any bacteria and that the creature didn't harbor a poison that would affect him, as he didn't have access to Poisona.

 _At any rate, I can always call for backup, in an emergency._

Activating the Restore and casting a low-level Cure, he watched in satisfaction as the green wash of energy washed over him, gathering around the wounds and sinking into them. In a moment, they were reduced to deep scratches, something that he would ignore for now. A tingle in his arm let him know that the scratch there had also been taken care of.

Quickly, he returned to his feet and strode to the door. He had no trouble tracking the creature now – a trail of minor destruction followed in its wake: patches of blackened carpet, the fires now extinguished, were littered here and there; it had apparently slammed into the secretary's desk on the way past, dislodging the lamp which now lay dark on the floor; and, finally, a mangled section of the railing revealed which direction it had recklessly chosen to go in its pain-induced madness.

Hoping to stay on its trail, Sephiroth disregarded the stairs and vaulted over the railing himself, effortlessly landing on the floor of the lounge's dining area below. Only a twinge from his calf as he straightened marked his injury.

He gave the area a cursory once-over, though he was fairly certain where the creature had gone – a gaping hole in the panel of the expansive window, ringed by jagged glass, allowed the cold evening air to gust into the room. Sephiroth walked over to inspect it, mildly impressed. Though not bulletproof as the President's windows were, it was still meant to contain anyone (aside from a SOLDIER) trying to slam into it with suicidal thoughts. The creature must have taken it at some speed.

But with such speed, it was likely to have flung itself out to plummet to its death, sixty stories below. The General frowned, leaning out the window. Savage winds, wild at this height, tore at his clothing and hair, whipping his silver locks around and seeking to pull him from the safety of the building. The view below was almost dizzying at this height; as he glanced downward, dozens of levels of lit windows advanced away from him and shrunk into the distance. He could almost feel the tower sway with the wind gusts.

It was late, the sunset breaking through the smog and painting the sky with reds and yellows. But Sephiroth was on the opposite side of the display; the sky here darkened to a deep purple, ShinRa's tower casting its long, dark shadow far across and over the edge of the plate. Green reactor plumes drifted into the sky, before getting caught by the wind and merging into the clouds. Far below, though obscured by the plate, Sephiroth knew the lights of the Slums were already burning, as their night began early.

A thin ledge, barely six inches across, ran beneath the wall of windows. As Sephiroth's gaze drew to it, he saw that a good chunk of it was missing, and, further down, a set of four, deep marks, scoring through it. _So, the creature had been nimble enough to catch itself before falling._

Leaning further out, after taking a moment to glance upward to ensure there would be no danger coming from that direction, he spied a metal grating some distance away, near the corner of the building. It was warped, pried away from its foundation and left to dangle in the wind. It occasionally slammed against the side of the building; Sephiroth knew it wouldn't be long before it broke away entirely and fell.

He took a moment to consider following the creature's path around the side of the building and into the duct, braving the winds, but decided against it. He had no doubt he could do it, but the close quarters of the ductwork would put him at a disadvantage. He would have to trace the creature another way.

Pulling back inside, he turned and made his way to the single elevator in the back, already flipping his phone open to alert the other SOLDIERs.

* * *

Sephiroth fought the urge to give a weary sigh. As a SOLDIER, he could certainly operate on very little sleep, but he preferred not to. He'd come to appreciate its benefits, especially during the long months in Wutai, when sleep was a luxury they could rarely afford. Despite what most might think, he did get regular hours of sleep each night - they might be less than what many of the other SOLDIERs enjoyed, but, regardless, they were there.

Now, the too few hours of sleep he'd gotten in the past few days, coupled with the long, arduous task of tracking this creature, were beginning to weigh on him. He was far from collapsing on the spot, but he _was_ beginning to strongly wish to get this over with. And his irritation was beginning to show in his short, clipped commands over the phone to the other Firsts.

Rubbing his forehead in annoyance at himself, he continued down yet another dim hallway, still on the search for the elusive creature. They'd found blood spatters at the point where the thing had exited the air ducts, and had been able to trail them … to a point. After a while, they stopped finding them, and that's when Sephiroth had been forced to begin going through the sector, level by level. Even the dogs had been confused.

There was always the possibility that the creature had passed on to another area, but he was counting on the other SOLDIERs to notify him of that. So far, he hadn't received any calls.

Idly, he wondered how Zack was doing. Probably pacing the floor in his room, now that he knew what Sephiroth was up to, worried that the General would need his help and that he wasn't there to give it. He found his lips twitching up into a slight, fond smile. Zack was becoming quite the SOLDIER. Already, Sephiroth found himself relying on his friend more times than he could count, and wished he were here as much as Zack likely did. Angeal would be proud of his young apprentice.

Angeal … The smile turned sad at the thought of his old friend. His death had been … difficult, at best, for all of them, all of SOLDIER … but particularly for him and Zack. Sephiroth regretted how he had handled that case – it had been his last card to play, sending Zack after both of them, and his gamble had backfired horribly. It was a wonder Zack ever forgave him.

Zack had been pushing himself hard lately, ever since Angeal's death. Of course, things weren't nearly as bad as they had been initially, but Sephiroth could see that it was still difficult for him. Every once in a while, during paperwork days, the scratching of the pen in the adjoining office would stop, and Sephiroth would glance over to see Zack staring blankly at the page of some report, probably reminded in some small way of his lost mentor. Then he'd either raise his eyes to the ceiling, or get up to stand at the window for several minutes. Often, when it became too much, he'd walk out without a word. Sephiroth would find later that he'd taken on another mission.

Come to think of it, that was how Zack's last mission had begun, actually … Zack had been scrounging for something else to do and been offered the mission to Mideel. It had been new, so hadn't yet had a mission plan and, once Zack had come to him with it, Sephiroth had decided to allow him to try his hand at planning the mission himself, thinking it would be good for him.

The young SOLDIER had been surprised, but took to it with enthusiasm. Sephiroth had reviewed and approved it afterward; he'd found a few items he would have done differently himself, but they hadn't been critical, so he allowed Zack to do things his way. If they could be done better, Zack would learn so along the way.

Now Sephiroth wondered if that had been a mistake. Perhaps putting the entirety of the mission's burden on his shoulders had been the wrong thing to do – perhaps he should have eased Zack into it. He'd already been allowing Zack much leeway in accomplishing missions, but planning one from the start was something different … Was Tseng right? Had the strain finally been too much for him, after everything else? Was that why his behavior was so erratic?

Was that why Zack had killed an innocent and forgot he had done so?

"Zack … I should have been there for you. More than I was … I should have seen this coming, should have done _something_ … What happened to you?" He shook his head. He hated these doubts about his friend. And he hated himself for having them. And now he was forced to deal with this monstrous _distraction_ , when his real concern was pacing through the carpet somewhere above, berating himself for getting into a position where he was of no use to anyone.

"Hang in there, Zack." He resolved to finish the creature he was tracking as soon as humanly possible.

Returning his thoughts to his current task, he mildly berated himself for becoming so distracted. Had he missed some sign of the creature? It had been a while since anyone had heard from it … No, he was fairly confident that he'd have noticed if he was about to pass some indication of it.

Sharpening his focus, he again reviewed what he knew of the creature, trying to identify a critical weakness, if any, that he might be able to exploit. From his last encounter, he knew –

A _thump_ and a shuffle from a doorway up ahead caught his attention. Narrowing his eyes, he drew close to the wall. Pressing back against it, he drew the hilt of Masamune up and back to its favored position along his cheek, keeping the blade parallel to the floor. He advanced slowly, taking care to make his footsteps quiet. There was additional shuffling, and a light flashed across the hallway.

When the tip of the sword drew even with the doorway, Sephiroth quickly swung around, sliding the long blade into the room and presenting it against his potential foe … only for the man inside to squeak in terror, drop a flashlight and several books with a clatter, and freeze with the sword a mere inch from the crook of his neck and shoulder. The flashlight rolled to a stop against the leg of a nearby table, now illuminating Sephiroth's boots.

Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. The long, white coat identified the man as a scientist; his glasses completed the stereotype appearance. But he was not supposed to be here – this level had been evacuated an hour ago.

"S-S-Sephiroth!" The man stiffly pushed his glasses further up his nose, in a futile attempt to recover some dignity. "It's a p-pleasure to-"

"What are you doing here?" the General demanded, not bothering to lower his weapon. "This level has been shut down. Why aren't you with the others?"

The man's eyes flicked nervously to the blade and back. "J-just getting some work … some important b-books …"

Impatient at the man's density, he allowed his sword to drop to the side, and drew closer, fighting the urge to grab him by the lapels. The scientist's relieved sigh was cut short by Sephiroth's suddenly intimidating height. He gulped.

"Do you realize," Sephiroth began slowly, clipping the words, "that the reason you were evacuated is because there is a monster loose within these halls?"

"Well, y-yes, but-"

"That this creature may be responsible for several brutal killings that recently took place?"

"B-but, I-"

"That it would have no problem _ripping_ out your throat before you could scream and slicing you _apart_?"

The scientist paled and opened his mouth to reply, but nothing came out.

" _Pick up your books_ ," he snarled.

With another squeak of terror, the man dove for his books, scrambling to stack everything together and gather the few documents that had fluttered from them. A last frantic grab slapped the flashlight on top of the stack; he barely had his arms around it before Sephiroth hauled him up by the back of his coat and physically moved him into the hallway.

As Sephiroth forcefully paraded the man down the corridor with one hand, he reached for the phone with the other. Inwardly, he was seething. He was doing his utmost to protect the people of ShinRa and ensure that there were no more casualties. All he needed was for one reckless fool to upend everything and turn all his efforts to naught. Did the man not know what was good for him?

A button later and he had the nearest SOLDIER on the line. "MacVale, get a SOLDIER up to my level _now_. I have a civilian I need escorted out of the building. I'm headed to the west elevators."

 _"Yes, sir! Right away."_

He put the phone away and gripped the scientist's coat more tightly to grab his attention.

"Under no circumstances are you to return to this level, or any other level. You are to exit the building, and you will _not_ return until ShinRa has given the all-clear _. Do you understand me?_ "

"Y-yes, but I … My supervisor-"

"Your supervisor has no authority in this matter. You will do as _I_ say. _Is that clear?_ "

"Y-yes, sir-"

" _Good_." Sephiroth escorted the man around several other corners, until they finally reached the hallway leading to the elevators.

He slapped the call button. The elevator arrived a few moments later, dinging softly. The doors slid open. As he had hoped, there was a SOLDIER waiting, darkly silhouetted against the red emergency light in the back of the ceiling. Sephiroth shoved the scientist into the compartment.

"Take him out."

The man stumbled slightly, turned and righted himself, as the SOLDIER clapped a hand on his shoulder. He looked up at the General. "T-thank you, sir."

Sephiroth grunted in response and spun away as the doors closed. Perhaps the man had finally understood the gravity of his situation.

Allowing a sigh, he began retracing his steps. At least that was one person he had been fortunate enough to save from a potentially grisly fate. Likely, there was no chance of finding the creature on this level any longer, but perhaps all was not lost, and he would find some clue as to where it had been. If it had been on this level at all.

He hadn't gone five steps when he slowed, catching a whiff of something odd. It smelled strongly of … of burnt _fur_ …? No …

His phone rang, and he absently answered it as he turned to regard the elevator, a coil of apprehension knotting in his stomach.

 _"Sir?"_ It was MacVale. _"Sir, we'll be a little late sending someone up. Have to take the stairs, since the elevators are giving us trouble-"_

" _What?_ " Suddenly, all his attention was directed toward the phone. "The elevators aren't working?"

 _"No, sir, we-"_

Sephiroth uttered a rare curse, snapping the phone shut and sprinting back toward the elevators. He should have paid more attention! The red lights only activated when the elevators lost power. His efforts in punching the call button were rewarded with nothing; instead, he dug his fingers into the joint between the doors to pry them open.

A moment later, he was staring into an empty car, wiring from the button panel exposed and left to hang; a glance upward revealed an open escape hatch.

 _No! How could I have been so blind?_ All too late, things were beginning to click into place. He didn't understand them fully yet, wasn't even close, but now he knew …

 _And I delivered another man right to his death! I was supposed to_ protect _him!_

With the kind of quickness only a SOLDIER First could possess, Sephiroth was across the elevator car and hauling himself through the hatch in an instant. Once at the top, he found himself in a wide shaft housing two other elevators. But there was no sign of either the creature or the scientist.

 _Where …?_

With a suddenness that caused him to jerk in surprise, something wet struck his forehead. He touched one gloved hand to it, and upon drawing it back, found some kind of dark liquid on his fingers, the dim, yellow lights of the elevator shaft lending it red highlights.

 _Blood._

He glanced upward and finally spied the humanoid creature, high above him, and continuing to scale the elevator cables. It greedily clutched a limp form, as if it were a beloved rag doll.

Sephiroth feared that the man must already be dead. But he refused to give up hope; securing Masamune to his back, he began to climb the cables himself. At the same time, he wondered how the creature was able to get so far, so quickly, burdened as it was.

Almost immediately, he was noticed. A high-pitched laughing sound echoed through the shaft, bouncing off the walls in an eerie fashion. Sephiroth looked up to find that the creature had stopped and was staring at him, though its features were difficult to make out in the darkness. Grimly, he continued.

After a moment of consideration, the creature abruptly clamped its jaws around one of the elevator cables and began gnawing. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes. Surely, it couldn't expect to actually …

… Apparently, it could. About twenty seconds later, the cable came free and snaked heavily downward. Sephiroth was forced to hastily readjust his grip and swing away from its path, or be taken down with it.

The General eyed the creature above. It must have incredibly durable jaws to cut through twisted steel cables like that. Unfazed, he continued upward. The creature glared at him, and upon seeing that he had not yet fallen and apparently had no intention of giving up, gave an angry shriek and leapt several feet upward. Then it attacked the next cable with renewed savagery.

Sephiroth gritted his teeth. There were four cables left … Given the distance between him and it, and considering the quick rate of the creature's climb, he was not going to make it before it severed all of them. The elevator would be in no danger of falling; it had electromagnetic breaks that engaged when the power was cut. But Sephiroth was rapidly losing his chosen method of transport.

The second cable loosened and fell. Sephiroth had to make another quick scramble to adjust.

Searching around, he spied a line of rungs bolted into the wall behind the elevator – the service ladder. That would do nicely.

Tensing, he gathered himself, then sprung toward the rungs, twisting around to snag one. He grunted at the impact, but it had been fairly easy, and he resumed his climb.

The creature, for its part, had been single-mindedly grinding through the cables. The third and fourth came quickly. Another upward leap and the creature was working on the last one.

Suddenly, a low _hum_ reverberated through the chamber. The lights flickered.

The power had been restored.

But that would mean that the electromagnetic breaks …

A series of distant _clangs_ , one after the other, rang through the shaft, as the breaks disengaged on each elevator and snapped back into place. There was an aggravated groan from the cable behind him – it was suddenly the only thing supporting the elevator's weight. With renewed urgency, Sephiroth quickened his rate of climb. He wasn't worried about the elevator, additional safety breaks would stop it. But that was only after it had built up enough speed – it had to fall first. And sudden tension on the cable had transformed it into a live whip, on the verge of breaking and potentially snapping at everything else in the shaft as the elevator fell.

And he was about to lose his quarry – they were secured to the other ends of the dangling cables, which were in turn attached to the heavy counter-balance …

His hands flew over the rungs. But the creature and its victim were still a dozen yards away.

There was a _twang_ , almost musical in nature, as the cable finally snapped. A screech tore his ears. He flung his gaze toward the creature, had it …? No, somehow it kept its grip on both the cables and the body as it was yanked upward.

But Sephiroth had something else more pressing to worry about. The severed cable slammed against one wall, rebounded as it was pulled downward, and headed straight for him. Bracing for the impact, he looped an arm through the rungs and seized them firmly.

The cable lashed heavily across his back, sharp and jarring, slamming his body against the rungs. The shock nearly caused him to loose his grip; he would have fallen had he not adjusted his hold in time. He gritted his teeth in pain, as the cable snaked away into the distance.

After a moment, he relaxed his hold with a wince. Thankfully, his shoulder pauldrons and Masamune had protected him from the worst. But he was still likely to end up with a nasty bruise; likewise across his chest where he'd been hammered against the rungs.

A distant, high-pitched squeal from below announced the emergency breaks activating.

But … what of the creature and the scientist? Sephiroth scanned the area, but could no longer find them. Had the creature lost hold and fallen? Leaning back for a better vantage point, he examined first the shaft below, and then above.

 _There._ Far above, an open set of doors. With the creature's strength and quick reactions, it wasn't farfetched that it had somehow leapt to safety. Sephiroth could only hope that it had kept its hold on the scientist … though he feared that it was now too late.

 _What kind of General am I, if I cannot save someone from a monster right in front of me?_ Shaking his head in self-disgust, he goaded his limbs into action and scaled the ladder.

He went as quickly as he could, past the regularly-spaced patches of weak light offered by flickering bulbs on the walls, pausing every so often to listen. The only sounds were the rhythmic, metallic beating of his boots on the rungs, and the background throb of electricity. Everything else was silent. It was disconcerting. Was the creature still there? Had it gone? Was it hiding?

Though it was cruel, a part of him wished at least to hear screams … He would know, then, that the man was still alive, that there would still be a chance. But there was not even that.

Sephiroth had always been good at killing people.

Finally, he arrived at the level of the doorway. As he twisted around to peer into the dark corridor, he noted that the doors had been bent, pried from the rails. Far beyond them was a single, flickering emergency light. And beyond that, a dark, misshapen form stirring at the end of the hallway.

It was a small effort to jump the distance to the doors; he landed silently, drew Masamune. He advanced slowly; he could see now that there was no point in hurrying. There was no question that the man he had tried to save was dead.

The creature was simply finishing its work.

A thick trail of blood ran unevenly down the center of the hallway. Further down, there were splatters on the walls, here and there. It was as if the creature had been too impatient to wait. Red footprints – those of SOLDIER-issue boots – meandered back and forth, sometimes jumping ahead, sometimes circling in one spot.

A sick feeling grew in his stomach, as Sephiroth approached. He frowned, craning his neck to the side to see better.

What he could not see clearly in the uncertain light of the elevator shaft was plainly visible now. The creature – and Sephiroth _knew_ it was the same one he'd been tracking, its behavior left no doubt – was dressed in SOLDIER First charcoals. It had its back presented to him, bent over what remained of the scientist. There wasn't much left of the man. What hadn't been left behind in the hallway … Well, Sephiroth had no doubt as to what the creature was currently doing.

As he neared, Sephiroth's blood suddenly ran cold at what he saw. His steps slowed to a halt. In addition to the uniform, it … _he?_ … sported black hair, arranged in a very familiar pattern of spikes, and when the head canted to the right, _just so_ , a very unique, X-shaped scar was visible on the jaw …

He recoiled in horror.

 _No. It_ can't _be …_

A buzzing filled his head, and all his thoughts splintered. He staggered backward, clapping a hand over his mouth.

 _Gaia, no! It's … it's …_

Even had he believed Tseng, he would never have thought … not like this …!

The creature before him, having been obsessively focused on the corpse beneath it until now, twitched its head to the side at the sound of Sephiroth's careless movements. Then, slowly, it turned, bringing its face into full view.

What was human once was human no longer. The vague shape of Zack's face was still there, but twisted into something monstrous. It was longer, more animal-like. Fine, tan fur spread across it, stained with blood, to blend up into its hair. Tall, frayed ears sprung from the side of its head, focused on Sephiroth's position, and a sharp, catlike grin split its face. Large, solid black eyes narrowed at him, and the creature drew up to its full height, gaining a foot on the tall General. Part of him registered bunched shoulders that strained at clothing, corded, furred arms, and curved, scythe-like claws at least five inches in length. Legs, twisted in a way they shouldn't be, shifted in preparation for a lunge, and a long tail lashed behind it.

When Sephiroth stared into those empty eyes, instead of finding Zack there, he saw only death.

It dove at him.

"Zack, _no_!"

* * *

  
_to be continued …_   



	11. Zack's Journal, Day 8, Evening

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> You totally knew another journal chapter was coming, so don't look at me like that. :P Don't worry, we'll get back to our regularly scheduled program next time...
> 
> This chapter is _short_. But that's just the way it wanted to be. Hope you enjoy!

**Final Entry**

I just got back to camp.

Stover's body is missing.

N'kim and Walker don't know what happened; they left to get some supplies from our stash in another part of the temple, and he was gone when they got back.

We think one of the forest critters dragged him off. … What am I saying, I _know_ it had to have been one of them! He couldn't just get up and walk off on his own! He was dead; I should know, I was the one that _killed_ him …!

Gaia …

… Pull it together, Zack.

There's nothing you can do.

… I wonder if it's the same creature that Harley saw. If it is, maybe this'll finally give us a lead. But the thing is …

 _There's no trail._

If something dragged Stover away, there'd _have_ to be some sign of it, right? But there's nothing! No footprints besides ours, no sign of anything heavy pulled through the dirt … Even N'kim, the expert tracker, can't find anything.

Just our footprints, and the footprints of those furries.

The furries … They _still_ run through here, even after everything we've done to keep them away! They're _always_ watching us! There's one on the ledge right now … Why can't they just _leave me alone_!

… That got rid of it.

Gaia, I'm losing it.

Need to _focus_ …

We searched all over for Stover. But he's nowhere among the ruins. There's nothing in the forest around us either, but we're quickly losing the light and it's hard to tell. There's no tracks, though.

No tracks …

It's like he just floated away …

The bushmen – they've been with us, holding down the fort, though I haven't mentioned them much – they say the forest is _cursed_. They say it's _watching us_. They say we've angered the spirits, and that they're going to _make us disappear_.

I ask them why they wait until now to complain, why they even bothered to come with us.

They just cower in fear at my voice and shrink away. I tell them to leave, go home if they're so afraid. I don't care.

But it's dark. They won't go. Not yet. I can see them considering it, though.

… The guys are watching me now, keeping their distance. I think they're wondering if I'm going to snap at them too. I …

I don't know what's wrong with me. They don't deserve this. They're just as upset as I am, if not more! Hammerson was Stover's _friend_. It must've been a nightmare for him to have to face him like that. I know, because I …

And then for me to come along and just _kill_ him …

At least … At least Hammerson wasn't the one who had to do it. I don't care if he blames me, at least he'll be spared that. No one should have to kill a friend. I'd do it a thousand times over to keep someone else from going through that.

Let _me_ be the bad guy.

… I should talk to the guys now. They need some encouragement, something to make them feel better, someone to tell them it'll be okay. That nothing's their fault. It's too soon to really talk about Stover like he's gone – we don't know what made him go berserk, we don't know what happened to his body … There might be something out there.

But they need to know that we're all here for each other, and that I'm not gonna leave them hanging.

Maybe tomorrow we'll be able to talk about Stover.

Tonight … we just need to know that we can still trust each other.

* * *

This is it.

One of the bushmen just came running back from the forest. He was yelling something about the "Ghosts in the Trees." I guess he saw something.

Me and the guys are grabbing the gear to head out. Both bushmen just took off in terror – I don't think they're coming back. They left most of their stuff. I'd go after them, but there's no time.

… I just told N'kim to beat it, too. I knew he couldn't stick around, not if we found something, not with his tribe's crazy beliefs. He didn't want to leave … but he doesn't have much of a choice. I know he regrets it, and so do I, but … there's no help for it. I told him I understood.

Damn it. I need him with me. I need Stover with me too, but …

Heading out now. There's a small valley to the North we somehow overlooked, full of trees and flowering vines. That's where we're going. I'm leaving everything here for when we get back. Guess we didn't have to wait another day after all.

Sun's almost down. I expect we'll be back by dawn.

_(Journal end.)_

* * *

_(Note: The following recording was discovered on a Shinra-issue backup radio; audio has been cleaned up for the purposes of this investigation. The voice was identified as belonging to one SOLDIER First Class Zack Fair.)_

"Gaia, help us! It's the Ba'keel, the Forest Watchers – they're not a myth! They're real, they've been right under our noses this whole time!

"And the Ghosts in the Trees, they're-"

_(Recording end.)_

* * *

_to be continued …_


	12. Truth

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now we are back to our regularly scheduled programming. This chapter was such a beast to write! There is so much that happens, and I toyed with breaking it up further into secondary chapters. But, for various reasons, I decided it would be best overall to keep it all together and follow my original plan.
> 
> Thanks to LuckyLadybug for help on this chapter! And thanks also to Clolot for pointing out some loopholes that I'd forgotten about when trying to tie things up. There are so many threads to keep track of that's it's too easy to forget if I don't get them written down! Anyway, I've added a few things to this chapter that will hopefully address those problems. It's likely that they weren't too noticeable in the first place, so if you haven't noticed, I'm not telling you what they were. :P They should all be patched up now, anyway! Well enough for Frankenstein, at least ...
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

Sephiroth leapt backward, but not quickly enough to completely avoid injury as the creature extended its claws in an upward swing that caught him across the chest. But the injury was minor, and he had no time to consider it as the creature drove forward, snapping its jaws.

Unwilling to use his sword, he slammed a fist into the creature's head to knock it away. A deep, rumbling growl answered him, and the monster came back, undaunted. Sephiroth brought both fists together upon Masamune's hilt, and again drove them into the creature's skull, pounding it toward the floor.

The monster caught itself with deformed claws, bared its fangs and screamed at him. The shrill sound split his ears; horror and disbelief drove him back.

" _Zack!_ " His voice was anguished. "What happened to you? _Stop this!_ " The very thought that his friend had become this monstrous, unreasoning … _thing_ … choked the air from his lungs. His hands shook; he fought to keep them steady, keep Masamune between them.

The creature, now on all fours, narrowed soulless eyes and crept forward, a rumble spilling from its throat.

Sephiroth stared at it, searching its face for answers. How was this possible? Zack was supposed to be _safe_! He was supposed to be in his apartment! Sephiroth had secured the door _himself_! He shook his head in denial.

 _… But what if … the air ducts …?_

His eye caught what he thought was a flicker of violet within the black depths of the creature's. Was Zack still there?

"Zack, it's _me_ , it's _Sephiroth._ " He clung to a frantic hope that he could reach his friend. He'd talked with him just hours before! That Zack could somehow become this creature, when he'd been laughing, smiling, seeking comfort from Sephiroth not long ago … it twisted his mind, destroyed his reality. " _This isn't you!_ Gaia, Zack … _Please!_ "

The creature seemed to consider his words, tilting his head first one direction, then the other. It slowly advanced.

"Zack. Come back! _Remember yourself!_ " He had no idea what could have done this to his friend. Was it even possible for him to come back? Was Sephiroth even reaching him?

Gaia, how long had Zack _been_ like this? Ever since the first murders had begun, a month ago … Had Zack even known what was happening? Had he been trying to reach out to Sephiroth? Had Sephiroth just been too blind to see it, just as he'd been too blind to help Genesis and Angeal before it had been too late …?

No! There _had_ to be a chance that Sephiroth could bring him back! If he'd returned before, surely now … It _couldn't_ be too late …!

Abruptly the creature sprung. But it caught Sephiroth off-guard, angling for the wall rather than directly for him, and his block met empty air.

Suddenly, there was no longer any steel between him and it. Sephiroth turned, but too late. The creature bunched its legs and rebounded from the wall, lunging for his unprotected back.

He was caught high, the impact pitching him forward and slamming him into the ground. Quickly, he tried to roll, but the heavy weight upon his back made it impossible. A short yell escaped him at the sudden pain of teeth stabbing into his shoulder. Claws raked into his back; one pair found purchase on his right shoulder pauldron and dug deep, seeking to pry it off like a shell.

He grit his teeth. Thankfully, he'd managed to keep his grip upon Masamune. Sensing the materia snug within its hilt, he turned his awareness to the one that crackled with energy. _Lightning._ Feeling it grow warm beneath his glove, he connected with it. Suddenly, like a switch flipping on, all his nerves came alive; deep inside, he could hear the distant song of the Planet rejoicing in the wild energy of the thunderstorm. The air around him became electrified. The creature atop him stilled, sensing something out of the ordinary.

He gathered the power, allowed it to grow, until it strained at the iron bonds of control he'd wrapped around it. Then, mentally directing it, he let it go.

 _Crack._

The energy speared through the monster, flinging it into the wall. It hadn't even the time to scream before it lay in a heap on the floor, tiny flames licking at singed fur. Its ears and tail twitched.

Sephiroth rolled away. A painful effort brought him to his feet, and he leveled his sword at the beast, maneuvering to put the creature between himself and the gaping hole into the elevator shaft.

"Zack …" His heart beat quickly. Had he killed it? But Zack was a First; surely not …

He raised his voice. " _Zack._ " The word was strained, his throat tight. He willed the creature to get up.

There was no warning. In an instant, the creature transformed from a boneless heap to a snarling mass of rage charging straight for him.

He had time only to angle his blade between him and it, still unwilling to strike with it. The creature, too fast, hit the blade, steel biting deep into its shoulder and chest. It jumped back, screaming; lunged again.

" _Enough!_ Zack, get a hold of yourself! Don't do this!" He beat it back, retreating as he did so. Was _nothing_ he said getting through to his friend? Could he do _nothing_ to help him?

"Zack, _please_ , don't make me …!"

They traded blows, Sephiroth purely on the defensive, desperately hoping that Zack would come to his senses. The monster's strikes rained down hard; Sephiroth's back protested at the effort to block, wounds screaming at him. But the creature kept coming, occasionally landing a good hit and scoring additional injuries against the General. Though its own arms became bloody, Masamune cutting deep in order to defend its master, the creature, in its madness, showed no sign of stopping.

Despair trickled into Sephiroth's heart. _Gaia … Is this what Zack faced in confronting Angeal? Am I to give him the same fate he was forced to give his mentor?_

"Zack … if there's anything left of the friend I know … hear me, please! You're my _friend_ , Zack! You're all I have left!" He was desperate. " _Don't make me kill you!_ "

But the creature, unreasoning, insane, showed no sign of comprehension.

Finally, Sephiroth gave an anguished cry, and struck out at the beast. Masamune traced a hard line across its chest and flung it away, toward the far end of the hallway. The creature hit, rolled, avoiding the drop into the elevator shaft, and went back to its feet. To Sephiroth's horror, it still refused to stop. Going to all fours, clawing at the floor, it charged.

Time seemed to slow.

 _… I want you to promise me … that if it really is me … that you'll stop me._

Sephiroth went to a knee and braced himself.

 _Promise me, Seph! By any means necessary._

He leveled Masamune's tip with the creature's chest.

 _Promise me …_

He bowed his head, closed his eyes. They stung.

"Oh, God … _wake me from this nightmare_."

A rumbling scream tore the air, reverberated from the walls. There was a split second when the _clack_ of claws against floor ended. Sephiroth pictured the creature, jaws wide, going for his throat. Its arms reached greedily, claws spread, hungry for flesh and muscle and bone. He waited for his blade to miss, the pain to rip one last time through his body.

But Sephiroth never missed.

The scream was cut short. The blade jerked, then grew heavy as Sephiroth heard the familiar sound of steel sliding through flesh. He held himself still, eyes squeezed shut, as the vibrations along the weapon stilled and shrill echoes faded away.

Then the blade fell from numb fingers, with a dull clatter to the floor.

He slumped to the side, leaning against the wall. He allowed blurry green eyes to open, forcing himself to fix them upon the figure beside him.

The creature lay upon its side, mouth open in a soundless scream. Vacant, black eyes stared back at him. A bloodied claw wrapped around the blade embedded in its chest. It worked its jaw once, claw clenching. A trickle of blood dripped from the fist. Then it let out one last, slow breath, and relaxed. Slowly, its life pooled around it and stained the floor. It was still.

Sephiroth's breath hitched in his throat. He brought a trembling fist to his forehead, shut his eyes in denial.

"What have I done …?" The horrified whisper was loud to his ears. Abruptly, he slammed the fist into the floor and thumped his head back into the hard, unforgiving wall. "Oh, God … _What have I done?_ "

He clutched his chest, curling upon himself.

It was not his best friend he'd impaled upon his sword.

It was his own heart.

* * *

For a long time, the hallway was silent.

 _Wow … Look, Angeal, it's General Sephiroth! Think I'll ever be like him? I wanna be a hero, just like he is …_

 _Here ya go, sir, I dunno how you like your coffee but I made it the same way I do mine. I'll go back and fix it if ya don't like it. … What! You drink it black? Seriously? Man, didn't know you were_ that _hard core …_

 _Hey, Sephiroth! Guess what! I just finished another training scenario, and I've leveled up and everything! I bet I can finally take_ you _on now …_

Sephiroth sat, slumped against the wall. Echoes of the past whispered softly in his ears.

 _So, I, uh … thought I might ask your advice on somethin'. So I've got this friend, who has this girlfriend. And her birthday's comin' up, and he doesn't really know what to get her, but she likes flowers, so he wants to get her some flowers, but she already has the most beautiful garden in all of Midgar, so should he get her some flowers? Because it just seems redundant, and I dunno what to do …_

 _Seph! What kind of ice cream do you want? I got a bonus from my last mission, so I am totally buying, and I better not get 'no' for an answer …_

 _Did you see that guy in the movie? He was all like, "For I am the great General Sephiroth, the Silver Death, the Terror of Wutai, the Hero of the World, and I will vanquish you. Prepare to meet your doom." It was hilarious! "_ I _am the great General Sephiroth." Dude, where do they dig up these actors …_

He wished he could hold onto them. But they were a reality that was slowly fading away.

 _Heck, yeah! Those monsters never stood a chance. We make an awesome team!_

 _Save me, Seph! It's Tseng, he's out to murder me! I swear I didn't do it, it was Reno this time, honest!_

 _You know … I'm really glad you're here, Seph. Dunno what I'd do if you weren't._

 _Thanks, Seph … for everything._

He felt numb.

He was aware of the two bodies lying in the dim hallway, but he didn't see them. He just stared blankly at the floor, his injuries a dull throb in the back of his mind. He didn't know how long he'd been sitting there, but he didn't care. It didn't matter.

Nothing mattered anymore. It was over.

 _Everything_ was over.

… A shrill ring split the silence. His phone.

Some small part of him grew angry at it for disturbing his quiet, cutting through those faint echoes. But he couldn't muster the will to stifle it. So he let it ring.

After a while, it stopped. Probably gone to voicemail.

He returned to his thoughts.

 _Someday, I wanna show you my hometown. It's different, but I think you'll like it. Not at all like the crazy bustle of Midgar. Kind of a peaceful, sleepy place, but there's energy there in people's hearts. It's a good place._

 _Hey … think I'll ever see Angeal again? Sometimes … I feel like he's still there, watching over us, ya know? I wonder if he's proud of me …_

 _I miss him a lot, sometimes …_

The phone rang again. Slowly, the echoes faded away.

They were probably trying to contact him, find out where he was. They hadn't heard from him in a while.

But the monster was dead. So he wasn't in a hurry. They could wait.

 _Zack_ was dead.

He closed his eyes, turned his head away from the disturbance.

The ringing stopped.

Sephiroth continued to wait, to see if the echoes would return.

But once again, that shrill sound pierced his solitude.

The echoes hadn't returned; it seemed that the maddening sound had driven them away for good. As a pit of loss opened up within him, he finally, slowly, drew out his phone. Half on autopilot, he flipped the device open.

"… Sephiroth." His voice was quiet, dull.

 _"Seph! Thank Gaia, are you alright? The other SOLDIERs have been trying to contact you, but they couldn't get through-"_

The voice sent a jolt through his spine, and the phone clattered to the ground from suddenly nerveless fingers.

 _Zack!_ What trickery was this? Zack was … He was _dead_! By Sephiroth's _own hands_!

 _"… Seph? … Seph? Hey, pal, are you there? Answer me!"_

Staring at the phone as if it had morphed into a gremlin, he slowly reached for it and picked it up.

"… _Who is this?_ " he demanded, struggling to keep his voice level.

There was stunned silence from the other end. _"… Um … It's_ me _, Seph. It's Zack."_

Impossible! Zack was dead!

Sephiroth shook his head. "No, I … I …" _I killed you._ He gripped the phone tightly. The plastic _creaked_ under the pressure.

 _"… Seph …?"_

… Had he finally lost his mind? Created some illusion to protect himself from the truth? He jerked the phone from his ear to stare at the digital display. No, the call was real – the ID registered Zack's name, and numbers at the bottom of the screen slowly counted up the length of the call. … But if this was real, then _how_ …? Slowly, he returned the phone to his ear.

"… Z-Zack … is that … _really_ you?" Disbelief colored his tone, and his eyes flicked over to gaze at the twisted, lifeless form beside him, silently begging the voice to confirm his question.

 _"… Well, yeah."_ The voice was hesitant, questioning. _"Of course it's me. Who did you expect-?"_

Abruptly, Sephiroth's tone sharpened. " _Where are you?_ Where have you _been_?" But the sharpness didn't quite cover the desperation that leaked into his voice.

 _"… I've … been in my apartment this whole time. Seph, you locked me in here yourself … What's going on? What happened, are you okay?"_

"I …" He ran a shaking hand through his hair. What _was_ going on? He'd killed Zack himself, so how …?

… No … Was it possible …? Did he dare to hope? Could he afford to?

 _… A copy …?_

Stunned, mind still struggling to catch up with this revelation, he automatically voiced the first concern that came to his lips. "Zack … a-are you … are you alright?" He needed to hear it, from Zack himself, that he was okay. That Sephiroth hadn't really …

The voice went quiet. _"… Yeah, Seph, I'm fine. Look, what happened? You … you're scaring me."_

Zack … Zack was alive …

Sephiroth didn't know what to think. His eyes turned back to the creature. It … _really_ … wasn't Zack?

No … and it had never been Zack. Zack had still been in his apartment when Sephiroth had first discovered the creature. He'd spoken with Zack himself, at the time. And the apartment had been locked. Though the air ducts …

No. It was too obvious now, and how he could ever have _believed_ … He shook his head.

Zack was alive.

A sudden, euphoric feeling of relief swept over him, and he collapsed against the wall, quiet laughter escaping his lips. _Zack was alive._ He touched his forehead, then ran fingers through his hair, a physical echo of his attempt to straighten out his thoughts. Never in his life had he been so grateful to have encountered a clone! By the Planet …

"… _Thank God._ … Zack, I-I … thought you were dead. I thought I'd _killed_ you." His voice trembled slightly.

 _"_ What? _Seph, I … I'm right here! I'm okay, really, I promise! I'm right where you left me. … What made you think …?"_

"It …" Sephiroth took a deep breath, struggling to get a handle on the turmoil of his emotions. Zack was alive. _He was alive!_

Taking a moment to gather himself, he turned his focus to the creature, finally beginning to properly analyze the situation. "… It must have been a clone, Zack, some kind of copy. … But it was monstrous, a distorted, warped creature. … It had your face … barely …" He shuddered at the memory. "And your hair and uniform … I thought it was _you_!" Unexpectedly, his voice broke on the last word.

 _"… Gaia … Seph, it wasn't, okay? I promise, I'm right here!"_ There was a hard thump. _"Gaia, if only I'd been there, I'd-"_

"It's alright, Zack. I'm fine now. Everything's …" He took a deep breath, let it out. "Everything's _fine_." And it truly was. He cast his gaze upward. _Thank you._ "I am just … _grateful_ that you're alive."

 _" … Me too, Seph. I'm glad you're okay."_

Sephiroth smiled, bowing his head. Never in his life had he been so glad to hear his friend's voice.

 _"… So you've finally got the killer then, huh? Wow … That's crazy, it really was pretending to be me."_

Sephiroth nodded. "You have no idea how 'crazy' it was. Listen … I need to wrap up a few things here, but I'm going to send a SOLDIER over to disengage the lock on your door. I think we can safely assume that your innocence has been established."

 _"Really? Awesome! You're the best, Seph. Hey, where are you? I'll meet you there."_

"Actually … it's best that you don't. You don't need to see this – it's not pretty. Besides, the elevator might have some trouble."

 _"… The elevator might …? Hoo boy, Seph, you're gonna have a story to tell when I meet up with you again."_

Sephiroth smirked. "Indeed. I'll meet you in the SOLDIER lounge."

 _"Alrighty, see ya there! I'll buy you a drink – sounds like you could use one!"_

"Actually, just coffee would be nice."

 _"Coffee? Sure. How do you-"_

"Just fix it the same way you do yours." It _was_ a little too sweet … but, come to think of it, it wasn't that bad, after all.

* * *

With a newfound lightness to his step, Sephiroth strode down the corridors to the SOLDIER lounge. It felt as if a great weight had fallen from his shoulders.

It had actually taken him quite some time to wrap things up on the other level. He'd inspected the corpse of the creature, finding that the humanoid monstrosity seemed to possess the same fur that had been found with the bodies of the victims. He'd expected as much, and that tests run on the beast's saliva would find a match with the foreign bacteria also found on the victims.

As for the scientist who had been the creature's latest victim … Nothing could be done for him, or what was left of him. He had likely been dead within seconds after those elevator doors had closed, for which Sephiroth was grateful. If he hadn't, his last moments would have been excruciating, and Sephiroth wished for him to have at least been spared that. He clenched a fist at the reminder of his failure. The man's death weighed heavy on his mind, and would for a while yet.

At least … he still had Zack.

Sephiroth had notified Tseng of the situation, allowing him to pass the information on to the President. In turn, Tseng expressed his relief at Zack's innocence, and passed on a message from Reno: that Aerith was looking forward to seeing Zack again, as he hadn't visited since before he'd gone on that last mission. Sephiroth was more than happy to let him know. He was sure Zack would appreciate a few days off.

The General had then called in a team of SOLDIERs and forensics experts to take care of the scene, making good use of a Restore for his injuries while he waited. The body of the creature would be sent to the Science Department for analysis. Sephiroth suspected Hojo would have a field day. At the very least, he hoped that the scientist would be able to determine where the creature had come from, whether it was some kind of extreme mutation or something completely new. He hoped that it was the former case; the latter promised only to open up a whole host of future problems if there were more of those creatures. The ability to mimic the appearance and behavior of a human was a truly frightening possibility. And even more troubling was how it had come to be here. Had it just crawled in from somewhere? Or had it been sent?

Finally, after ensuring he had done all he could, Sephiroth made his way to the SOLDIER lounge … only to find it empty. He was mildly surprised – he'd expected Zack to have arrived here by now. But, no matter. He would just wait.

Settling himself on one of the couches, he thought back to the events of the past few days. What a trial it had been for all of them! Thank Gaia it was over. Having to imprison Zack, the struggle to determine what was really going on … It had certainly taken its toll. Sephiroth was exhausted, and he was sure Zack was just as tired, likely having not gotten much rest throughout the ordeal either.

Several minutes passed. Sephiroth jerked, finding himself about to doze off. He frowned, checked the time. Where was Zack? Surely he would have been here …

Deciding to go see what was taking his friend so long, he got up. Perhaps he would just meet Zack at his apartment. He left, heading for the elevators.

He stepped out onto Zack's floor, a few minutes later, but immediately sensed that something was wrong. It wasn't that it was too quiet … but there was something different about the quality of the air. Sephiroth frowned, a spike of apprehension needling his stomach. Quickly, he strode for Zack's apartment.

As he rounded the last corner, the thick stench of blood assaulted his nose. The two infantrymen he'd had guarding the door were dead, lying still on either side of the entryway, and the door itself was stuck open, the light on the keypad blinking amber.

Sudden fear made him fly down the hallway, and he was at the door in an instant, drawing Masamune. The lights inside the apartment were on, but it was too quiet. Cautiously, he stepped through the doorway. He didn't even bother trying to find a clear place to step – it was no use. Giant swaths of blood had been painted across the floor by some insane artist. His boots stuck slightly to the substance; the sound as he pulled them up made his skin crawl. As he stepped inside, he froze at the scene that greeted him.

A third corpse … a SOLDIER … lay sprawled across the floor. He was only identifiable by the small bit of black sweater that remained which hadn't been stained red, and the distinctive boots. A First.

There wasn't much else left intact that would identify who he was … or would even identify him as _human_. It was as if something had … played with him. As if something had wanted to eat him, but _couldn't_ , and so tore him apart, instead.

 _There was a second creature._

Sephiroth's first horrified thought was that the body was Zack's. But, thankfully, the hair was a matted brown. So, not Zack, and the relief mixed with guilt for the poor SOLDIER who had died in his place.

But then, where was Zack?

Broken from his trance, Sephiroth hastily followed a swath of blood drawn into the kitchen. Finding nothing there, he crossed the small living room to the short hallway where Zack's bedroom lay.

"Zack? _Zack!_ "

The bedroom was empty, but left in shambles. The dresser had been smashed, bed covers and mattress slashed, and various objects littered the floor. A short line of blood had been splattered upon one wall, beside the partial bloody print of a hand.

 _Zack … No!_ The creature had gotten to him first!

With a desperate hope, Sephiroth whipped out his phone, dialing Zack's number. _Please let him answer … Let me know he's still alive!_ He couldn't lose Zack, not again!

The sudden, loud blaring of Zack's distinctive ringtone shot through Sephiroth like a bullet. His eyes scanned the room: shelf, bed, dresser … _there_. Beneath a fallen lamp, the phone lay, neglected on the floor, and already open. Sephiroth's heart sank.

Zack was gone. And Sephiroth had no idea where he was.

Numbly, he went to collect the object. As he did so, his eyes caught upon something else abandoned among the rubbish. A broken frame, and next to it, the back of a photograph. His hand went to it of its own accord.

He flipped it over. It was a picture of Zack and Angeal. And the faces were missing.

* * *

Sephiroth raced down yet another hallway. He'd once again put the SOLDIERs on alert, and this time they were searching every inch of the building for any sign of blood, Zack, or the creature. There was more at stake here than simply cornering it like last time.

Scarlet's war machines, which they'd successfully reprogrammed, had, up until now, been of little use. But, finally, they'd received a signal indicating the detection of a DNA match. The initial signal had quickly blinked out, but a second one had come through moments later. It had lasted much longer, before dying.

By a stroke of fortune, it had originated from the level two floors below Sephiroth's, on one of the receiving and distribution levels, from which equipment was sent to other parts of the building. The machines were programmed to swarm upon getting a match, so he knew that more were on their way. But he wanted to get there first.

Having vaulted down the stairway and burst through the level's doors, he now hastened through the corridors as fast as his enhanced abilities would allow, taking the corners almost too quickly to keep his feet. The hallways here were wide, with tall ceilings, unfinished, gray steel panels lining the walls and floors. Not well lit to begin with, the sparse emergency lights made the place dark and foreboding. The occasional, loaded cart, abandoned in the evacuation, loomed near the walls, obscuring portions of the hallway and creating potential hiding spots for his quarry.

He'd stumbled upon a pod of Red Saucer bots a short while ago, still sparking from an encounter, and knew the creature had to be close. Caution slightly slowing his urgent flight, he took several more turns before coming to a loading dock. An enormous, hangar-like space, it contained numerous crates arranged in stacks in a wide pit, about six feet deep, which took up the majority of the area. Around the perimeter of the pit was a large walkway, wide enough to fit three vehicles comfortably side-by-side. At the far end of the room was a large platform where the industrial-sized elevator was housed, and across the ceiling were two cranes, each rated for several tons.

What caught his attention, however, were two Drill Machines, about halfway across the room on the walkway. One lay, decimated, upon the floor, and the other had speared itself into the wall, effectively shutting itself down.

And, leaning against the wall, staring at them, was _Zack_.

"Zack!" _Thank Gaia._ Sephiroth dashed toward his friend.

Zack started, and his head jerked up. "… Seph?" A sudden grin split his face. "Seph! Boy, am I glad to see you!" He pushed away from the wall, hand wrapped around his upper arm, as Sephiroth neared. "That monster, it came after me in my room, and I barely made it out! But it followed me, so I tried to give it the slip." He shook his head. "I think it followed me here, though," he finished, glancing nervously into the darkness of the hangar.

Sephiroth reached for his friend's arm. "Are you alright?" He frowned. "You've been injured."

"Oh, this?" Zack pulled his hand away from his arm, revealing a deep cut. "It's not so bad-"

"What happened?" he demanded.

Zack ran the hand through his hair in bewilderment. "You wouldn't believe it … It's these machines! They've gone crazy! They're just attacking people on sight." He walked up to the one on the floor, gave it a kick. "Whatever you guys did to try to reprogram them didn't work. Well … they did go after that monster too, but I think they're just attacking anything that moves!"

Sephiroth grunted. "I should have known things couldn't be that simple. Especially with Scarlet's machines. They've been known to malfunction on more than one occasion."

"Heh. Tell me about it." Zack himself had been sent to stop them multiple times already.

Sephiroth smirked, then took his friend's arm. "Hold still."

"Hey, what're you-"

The General prodded at the injury, earning a yelp from Zack, who then tried to pull away. "I said, hold still …" Determining that the wound wasn't too serious, he activated his Restore and cast Cure, watching as the cut knitted itself back together.

"… Hey, thanks." Zack beamed at him.

Sephiroth nodded. "Can't have you looking a mess for your girlfriend. … How is she doing, by the way?" Finished with the materia, he pulled away to scan the pit, keeping an eye out in case the creature might choose to ambush them from the dark shadows of the crates.

"Hmm?" Zack, thinking he'd heard something, had his gaze trained on the far end of the loading bay, where the elevator sat.

"Aerith. How is she doing?"

"Oh … she's fine. She says 'Hi' by the way."

Sephiroth nodded. Then he withdrew Masamune. "Ready to finish hunting down that creature? You'll need this …" Popping out his Lightning materia, he tossed the green orb to Zack. "Since you seem to have lost your sword."

Zack caught the stone, then shot him a pout. "Hey, let's see how _you_ do when something attacks you in your own apartment! That thing was so fast, it was insane."

"Indeed." He remembered the torn remains of the SOLDIER and the two infantrymen. "How did it-"

Before he could finish, a sudden vibration was felt through the floor. A rotating yellow caution light sprung into being over the elevator, and a klaxon sounded, echoes bouncing around the hangar. Both SOLDIERs turned to stare as the platform began to rise up from below.

"Seph … I have a bad feeling about this …"

Sephiroth was not given the chance to echo his agreement. The head of a large machine rose into view, and immediately turned its red sensor "eye" in their direction. Without waiting for the elevator to finish rising, it lifted two pointed legs, set them on the ledge, and clambered out of the pit.

A Guard Spider.

"Tell me that thing's not coming after us, too …"

The machine lifted its two bulky arms, each with a cannon mounted on the end, and fixed the weapons onto their position. It fired.

Sephiroth sprang into action. As the bullets struck the ground around them, he shoved Zack to one side, then leapt to the other, seeking to get out of the line of fire.

"Zack, circle around, and … _Zack_!"

Rather than continuing in the direction Sephiroth had pushed him, Zack had doubled back and dove for the pit of crates. The machinegun fire followed him, tracking back across Sephiroth's position. He was forced to throw himself to the ground lest he be mowed down. Bullets struck the crates, splintering them and sending fragments flying in all directions. Small bits of wreckage rained down upon his hair.

The shooting stopped.

Sephiroth glanced into the pit, searching for his friend, but too much was obscured by the stacks of boxes. As he looked, the Guard Spider geared itself into motion and clanked forward. Its sharp legs dug into the concrete flooring, the weight of the machine leaving deep gouges in the surface. With the whirring of hydraulic servomotors, it clambered down into the pit and proceeded to indelicately navigate through the maze of crates.

 _Who in his right mind sent the_ Guard Spiders _inside to hunt for the creature?_ Sephiroth frowned as the careless placement of a leg smashed through one crate, and a swing of the machine's torso toppled a full stack. _What a nightmare,_ he groaned.

Springing up, he leaped to the top of the nearest stack of crates, and again to a taller stack, seeking to gain a better vantage point.

"Zack!" Finally, he spied the young SOLDIER darting away from the machine and between two boxes. "Zack, hit it with a Bolt spell! It's weak to-"

Abruptly, the machine started firing again and Sephiroth was forced to quickly seek a different position. The clanging of its steel appendages rang throughout the chamber.

With a muttered curse, he decided to take matters into his own hands. As he navigated the tops of the boxes, he activated the Ice materia secured within his armlet. Extending his hand toward the machine, he felt the chill of the magic course through his veins, and focused it on the center of the robot, where the majority of the gearboxes, motors, and control systems were housed.

Ice was a slow magic; he was forced to keep his focus for several moments as he waited, with uncharacteristic impatience, for it to take effect. Gradually, the machine's movements slowed, motors whining. Delicate crystals began to form on the outer steel plates, while frost covered the hydraulic lines. Finally, steaming joints helped to ice over the frost, and the Guard Spider stopped in its tracks, straining against its frozen prison.

Satisfied, Sephiroth rapidly closed the gap to the machine. Raising Masamune, he swung it down in a fluid arc.

Once. Twice. Three times, and the stressed steel fractured, shattering apart. An explosion from the internal power unit rent the torso, flinging the cannon arms away, forcing Sephiroth to duck. The remainder of the machine teetered on its legs for a moment, then collapsed into a heap on the floor.

Once Sephiroth was sure that it would not longer move, he leapt to the ground.

"Zack! Where are you? Are you alright?" Worried, he stepped through the wreckage, glancing to either side.

Just as he was about to fear that he would not get an answer, Zack called out to him.

"Seph! Yeah, I'm fine, I'm-" There was a grunt as he fought his way around a demolished stack of crates, whose contents were spilling onto the floor. "I'm right here." Nearly tripping over the debris, he finally made it to his friend. A whistle split the air. "Nice work! That thing didn't stand a chance."

Sephiroth grunted. "It was only a Guard Spider, after all." He flexed his hand upon Masamune's hilt, drawing closer to his friend. "Not nearly as challenging as you've been … _Zack_."

Zack cocked his head, questioningly, at the General. "Oh, yeah?"

A nod. "I'm glad you decided to stick around …" With a movement too quick for the eye to follow, Sephiroth plunged Masamune deep into the other's chest. " _So I can finally kill you._ "

Zack stared at him in shock, gasping. "…S-Seph …" Sephiroth gripped his shoulder and drew close, driving Masamune deeper.

" _Impostor,_ " he growled.

The form of Zack convulsed, clutching the blade. Then he looked up, rage darkening his features. His lips drew back in a silent snarl, revealing suddenly sharpened teeth, which grew longer even as Sephiroth watched. Tan fur spread out from the face, as Zack's ears shifted and grew more pointed. His eye widened, then narrowed, becoming black as oil, and the bridge of his nose wrinkled, echoing the snarl across his entire countenance.

The creature reached out for the General with fingers now sporting long, cruel claws … but they grasped air as Sephiroth tilted the blade and caused him to slide away.

The creature hit the ground with a dull thud, dislodging the Lightning materia from wherever it had stashed it, sending it rolling across the floor. Still glaring death at the SOLDIER, the monster bared its teeth and attempted a low growl. But the sound was caught deep in its throat, and it only came out as a gurgle as its air passages failed.

Sephiroth watched it coldly, eyes flashing. "Zack hasn't seen Aerith in a month," he informed it, doubting how much it actually understood. "And he wouldn't hesitate to make use of materia." The creature before him probably wasn't even capable of it. Sephiroth took out a cloth and perched on the edge of a nearby crate. He turned his attention to Masamune, beginning to wipe the blood from the blade, as his anger at the creature simmered.

"Furthermore," he continued, "you could not have destroyed the Drill Machines without a weapon, and as you have no sword, you would have had to use your claws. It was also obvious that the machines were working perfectly; Tseng was in charge of the re-programming, so the only person they could have tracked was _you_." He deftly worked the sword. "However, these simply confirmed what I'd finally realized upon finding that photograph in Zack's room." Here, he let out a derisive bark of laughter. "What really sealed your fate was the death of the doctor. And why I failed to see it before, I will never understand.

"The attack upon Dr. Davidson was too precise to be a random event as the other killings seemed to be. I'd thought it was Zack that the other creature was after … but it was simply that you could not afford to have a medical examination done on you. It would have revealed what you truly are.

"Whether it was you or the other creature that killed the doctor, I do not know, but it doesn't matter. What is important is that _that_ was when you committed your first, and largest mistake: Zack would _never_ have sat by in the dark and allowed someone else to be murdered. _Never._ " He snarled the last word, letting it embody all his fury at the deception, the heartache that the vile, wretched creature had caused.

He finished with the cloth, folded it, and tucked it away. "You do not understand what it means to be Zack Fair. Try as you will, you cannot, and will never be, capable of replacing him." He glanced back to the creature, where it lay, staring blankly at him. It's face still bore a snarl.

Sephiroth stood, crossed over to the creature, and toed it.

It was dead.

The General took a deep breath, let it out. Stepping away, he bent to retrieve the materia from where it had come to rest against the debris of a crate. Straightening, he gazed at it, rolling the smooth, green sphere between gloved fingers.

There was only one question left to answer – the most pressing one of all.

 _Whatever happened to the_ real _Zack?_

* * *

_to be continued …_


	13. The Ghosts in the Trees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter Thirteen, in all its glory, has now arrived! It promises to reveal everything. But then, so did every other chapter. ;)
> 
> Just one more chapter after this! You can all last that much longer, right?
> 
> Thanks again to LuckyLadybug for help! Hope you all enjoy. :)

_"They can't just have vanished, Tseng! Friends and family haven't seen them, they are nowhere to be found in ShinRa … And Zack …"_

 _"We're doing the best we can, Sephiroth. We have everyone combing the city …"_

 _Sephiroth shook his head, sighing. "It won't do any good." He wearily rubbed his forehead, tossing a handful of documents onto the table. "It all comes down to what happened a month ago. The soldiers go missing … Zack vanishes, replaced by two imposters … the killings begin … Something is significant about that time period."_

 _"… The return from Mideel … "_

 _Slowly, Sephiroth nodded. "That has to be it. Zack claimed to have landed in Midgar with the others … No, it was the imposter who claimed that, yet one of them also put in leave for all the soldiers, which the same imposter couldn't remember … Lies." Another sigh. "So many lies …"_

 _"We know, at least, that none of them have been seen in ShinRa since they returned."_

 _"… Did anyone see them return?"_

 _Tseng shook his head. "It was past midnight. A standard drop-off – no one was up to see them in; the debriefing was scheduled for the morrow."_

 _Sephiroth put his fingers together and rested his lips against them. He shut his eyes, thinking. "We know, with certainty, that the next time any of them were seen was the following day. And it was only Zack – the imposter."_

 _Tseng nodded._

 _"What of the pilot who returned them?"_

 _"It was a local pilot. From Mideel; he departed as soon as his job was complete."_

 _Sephiroth opened his eyes and raised his head. "Find him."_

* * *

The flight to Mideel had been long, almost agonizing in the amount of time it took. Though Sephiroth had secured a helicopter for a direct flight, it was still a good seven hours to reach the southern island. He was left with plenty of time to think.

After the death of the second imposter, a sweep of the building had revealed nothing – that monster had been the last one, providing no creature had been able to escape the building. Sephiroth had contacted Tseng, and together they re-examined the evidence of the past few days to determine what might have happened to Zack.

There was nothing to suggest that Zack had ever been among them since his return from Mideel a month ago, indeed, that he had ever returned at all. With their newfound perspective, they were able to conclude that any interaction anyone had had with Zack since then had been due solely to one of the two creatures. There was strong evidence to suggest that it had been, almost exclusively, the second creature that Sephiroth had killed, while the first had committed most of the murders. Hojo hypothesized that the second creature had been the more advanced of the two in mimicking human appearance and behavior, the first one less so.

Sephiroth couldn't care less about Hojo's opinions, so long as they helped him find Zack.

There had been no sign of any of the soldiers sent with Zack since his return, either. Family, friends … no one had heard from any of them since some time before the mission. He had to conclude that it had been one of the imposters, clever enough to use Zack's status, who had ordered leave for all of them, in order to divert suspicion. And that meant that, unless something had occurred during the return flight, neither the soldiers nor Zack had left Mideel in the first place.

If something _had_ occurred during the flight itself, then there was a lot of land between Midgar and Mideel, and the soldiers could be _anywhere_. Sephiroth prayed this was not the case.

To narrow things down, Tseng had finally been able to identify the local pilot who had supposedly flown them back. According to him, only Zack had returned from the forest. He had been expecting four other passengers, but Zack had mentioned nothing about them, and also carried nothing, other than what he wore and the sword strapped to his back, which the pilot had found a little odd. In inquiring about it, the pilot had simply been ordered to fly to Midgar. Shrugging, the man reported that he'd done as he was told, assuming that whatever had happened was ShinRa business.

 _So, Zack and the others had never returned from the forest._ Worrisome, yes, but thank Gaia they'd identified where to look, and they weren't scattered all over the main continent.

About four hours after Sephiroth had killed the last imposter, the creatures had … transformed, reverting, Sephiroth supposed, to their original forms and proving that they had not been some kind of mutated human copy. Instead, they were revealed to be some kind of strange, furry creature, rather small, with large ears and a long tail. They were reminiscent of small, climbing animals that Sephiroth had seen before, but were not something he was familiar with. That they apparently possessed the ability to not only transform, but to become something as large as a person, and to mimic the person's behavior and personality, were very troubling, indeed. Sephiroth wondered whether these had been the monsters that Zack and his team had been sent out to find.

To support the idea that the creatures had originated in Mideel, the reports of the DNA analysis on the fur and tissue sample had finally come in. They were insufficient to provide a positive identification of the creatures – either they were something unknown, or a mutation – but there were several elements seen in common with monsters from the Mideel area. Hojo had been excited about this, of course, being given the chance to study a new life form, but Sephiroth was less enthusiastic. If the soldiers had run into one of these creatures, which they surely had, what had become of them?

The General gazed out the window of the helicopter. They had left the mainland some time ago; only ocean, bright and endless in the sunlight, raced beneath them. His concerns had left him unable to sleep very much on the flight, and he was impatient to reach their destination. Unsure what had befallen his friend, he worried. Twice before, fate had been kind enough to ensure he had not found Zack dead. Would it be so a third time?

It had been a month. A _whole month_ , that Zack had been missing. Gaia … _anything_ could have happened in so long a time.

As he mused, the conversation of the other SOLDIERs in the cabin picked up. He'd brought five of them – a First and four Seconds – as backup, not knowing what he would find, but not wanting to be caught unawares, given the abilities and the strength of the creatures he had fought. It still surprised him how such a small animal could be so strong, so fast, and so bloodthirsty.

The voice of their pilot came over the intercom. "We are approaching the Mideel island. We'll be landing in roughly thirty minutes. Please secure your seatbelts, weapons, and materia, and prepare for landing."

The helicopter banked to the left, bringing into view the jut of land in the distance that the other SOLDIERs must have seen. It was rapidly growing larger.

Soon, the ocean was abandoned, and they soared over a pale beach that quickly gave way to lush, green jungle. Tall, rocky outcroppings spilled waterfalls into dense foliage below. Ahead of them, hidden by hills and greenery, the village waited. They were almost there.

Finally.

* * *

Sephiroth carefully picked his way through the thick undergrowth, taking care not to let the sword strapped to his back snag on anything. It was dim here, though bright sunlight still found its way to the forest floor, streaming down in blinding rays that dappled odd patches of light and dark across the ground. Colorful bunches of the occasional flower, in yellows, reds, blues, and oranges, broke up the depths of the green, beckoning the unwary traveler. Sephiroth remained cautious of cunningly disguised monsters and kept his distance. They were not particularly dangerous to him, but their poisonous attacks were an annoyance he did not wish to deal with.

It was strangely quiet here, the sounds of the SOLDIERs' footsteps muffled beneath the canopy, though insects droned ceaselessly in the background. There were few animal noises. The silence, the low sound of the insects, and the heavy, humid atmosphere all seemed to conspire to dull the senses, as if a thick, warm blanket had been draped over everything. This, combined with a faintly sweet scent that permeated the air and brought about an aura of peacefulness, recalled memories of lazy, summer afternoons, and beckoned sleep.

Sephiroth remained as alert as ever. The other SOLDIERs, spread out around him, who were also making their way through the brush, were alert, too, though there was more than one muttered comment on the quality of the atmosphere.

Scanning his team, he brought sharp eyes to rest upon their guide, a tall, dark-skinned fellow, by the name of N'kim. N'kim had personally come out of the jungle to meet them when they arrived, which Sephiroth understood was a rarity – the natives disliked leaving their remote village, except for the few that went to Mideel on a regular basis to trade. Warriors, like N'kim, were not among them.

In surprisingly good Common, N'kim had beckoned them to follow, barely giving time for them to unload their gear and secure the helicopter. He'd been impatient and sharp with them, giving the impression that he was somehow angry. They should have come sooner.

Sephiroth agreed. He watched this strange man, wondering at his behavior.

The native, insisting on taking them into the jungle, made only a brief stop at a stilted house to collect one other man – a Dr. Matthew Walker, if Sephiroth recalled correctly from the original mission briefing. The man had made a lucky grab for his wide-brimmed hat before N'kim had him by the elbow, out the door, and down the stairs. He'd initially been startled at the group of SOLDIERs that greeted him, but recovered quickly, expression turning grim, and matched strides with N'kim. They headed down the worn trail into the forest.

They hadn't even asked the SOLDIERs why they were here.

Slightly dumbfounded, the other SOLDIERs scrambled to pick up their packs when Sephiroth abruptly left to follow the two into the jungle.

The General caught up quickly. He had begun to speak, when N'kim cut him off, without preface.

"You are here because they disappeared."

"Yes."

"You are …"

"… Sephiroth. Zack's commanding officer."

There was a nod of acceptance. After that, keeping his words short and to the point, N'kim had explained that Zack had saved his life, and he was determined to return the favor. ShinRa should have come earlier, but he accepted that they were here now, and either they would aid him in finding Zack, or N'kim would leave them in the forest. Rather impressed with the man's dedication, the General had wondered about the impact Zack had made on him.

Over time, he received his answer. During the long trek to the ruins used as Zack's base of operations, he'd spoken at length with both N'kim and Dr. Walker. They were able to explain, in great detail, the events that had occurred over the week Zack and his team had spent in the jungle, giving Sephiroth much to think about. The attack of SOLDIER Third Class Stover was of particular concern. But even more troubling were the events of the last night they'd all been together – apparently, Zack and the others had gone into the forest after some creature … and never returned. N'kim and Walker had retreated to the village to wait for them. Days turned into weeks, which became a full month, and still there was no sign of the soldiers.

N'kim had made forays out to try to locate them, but, unable to convince anyone else from the village to accompany him, he had failed to find anything. There is not much that one man can do against the forest … especially when it was the forest itself that had swallowed them up.

Eventually, he had stopped going. But he never forgot. He knew that, one day, ShinRa would return. And, finally, all too late, they had.

Sephiroth considered the dark-skinned man, absently eying the painted designs on his skin. He now searched with the others for some sign of Zack's party. Surprised at the man's loyalty, Sephiroth was grateful to him for being there and for taking it upon himself to watch over Zack during his illness and recovery from the injuries inflicted by the kimara. A poison strong enough to affect a First so badly was a serious matter – without a Heal materia, Zack might have died.

 _If he wasn't dead already._

Sephiroth jerked his head, banishing those traitorous thoughts. Zack _was not_ dead. _He couldn't be._ Sephiroth would not allow it. Zack was somewhere, holed up in some makeshift shelter, maybe lost, maybe attending to an injured comrade, maybe injured himself, anything to explain why he had not returned, as long as it wasn't _death_.

But the emergency radio they'd found a short while ago hadn't been the reassuring piece of evidence he had hoped for.

 _"Gaia, help us! It … Ba'keel … Watchers … -t a myth! … Real, they've … under our noses this whole time!_

 _"A- … Ghosts in the Trees, they-"_

The recording had been short, fractured by static, and some of the words difficult to make out due to some commotion in the background. But they'd been able to decipher the majority of it, with N'kim explaining about the Ba'keel and "Ghosts in the Trees," though what had been known about them at the last was not clear. But one other thing was.

It had been Zack's voice.

Though Sephiroth was glad to have found some additional piece of evidence showing that they were on the right track, that Zack had to have come this way, he would have almost wished for anything else besides _this_. For the very fact that Zack had made this recording indicated that they'd been in the middle of something … desperate. Desperate enough that Zack, knowing that the small radio had no power to transmit in this forest, recorded what he could in an attempt to leave something for others to find when they didn't make it back.

He'd _known_ that they might not make it back.

 _What were you facing, Zack? I wish you could tell me …_

Lost in thought, he held up the device, running a gloved thumb along the dirtied and scratched black casing. Moving without his consent, his fingers pressed the button to repeat the message.

Static cut loudly through the stillness.

 _"… Gaia, help us! …"_

The other SOLDIERs looked up as the message played, focusing on their commander. This wasn't the first time he'd replayed it. They exchanged glances of concern.

When the message finished, Sephiroth stared at the little device. With a sudden surge of rage, he had the urge to crush the thing and hurl it into the trunk of the nearest tree. _Why wouldn't it tell him more? Where was Zack?_ he wanted to demand of it. His fingers twitched.

Abruptly, a heavy hand came down upon his shoulder, and he started, looking up at the man who'd somehow come up behind him without his notice. It was SOLDIER First Christopher Bail.

"We'll find them, sir." The man nodded, encouragingly. "I promise."

Sephiroth's eyes darkened, hiding the turmoil behind them, as he regarded the First. _How can you make that promise?_ he wondered. _Neither of us is in a position to promise anything._

But, as his gaze left Bail and scanned the other SOLDIERs, noting their determined expressions, he began to believe that the First was right – perhaps he _could_ make that promise. None of them would give up until each and every one of their lost comrades had been found, however long that would take.

As his eyes traveled over Dr. Walker and the impassive face of N'kim, he received a nod from each in turn. And he finally allowed himself to relax, just a bit.

That acidic thread of worry was still there, but SOLDIERs were family, and he knew they'd go to the ends of the earth for each other.

They would find them. They had to.

* * *

 _It had been yesterday when Sephiroth and his team arrived at Zack's base camp. What had taken Zack's party two days to reach with bushmen and a slight detour to the village, it took the determined group of SOLDIERs one. The two guides moved just as quickly, knowing well the forest and the route, and they arrived at the ruins by sundown._

 _The foliage here, more sparse than that in the rest of the jungle, allowed the sun to peek over the tops of the trees before them, a blinding jewel that cast long shadows from the scattered structures and promised an early twilight. Sephiroth took a moment to observe the area – the stillness of the air, the crumbling, vine-covered buildings, the twisted paths made of vanishing cobblestones that now led only to ruin._

 _He made his way up the short, deteriorating steps to the temple where Zack's team had pitched their tents. Most of the supplies were still there, now a month's worth of weathering inflicted upon them, where N'kim had left them for ShinRa to find … or for a lost traveler, in the event that someone miraculously returned from the forest._

 _The tents had been felled by the wind, or curious animals, and lay in heaps on the floor. Supplies, once stacked in what Sephiroth assumed was some semblance of order against a stone wall, were strewn about, old food packaging having been torn into long ago. The corner of a medical kit peaked out from beneath one edge of a worn canvas, and a string stretched between two columns, still with a stubborn pair of socks clinging to it. Leaves, twigs, and dirt had been scattered over everything by the wind._

 _They took the time to examine the campsite, and it wasn't long before Sephiroth discovered a small, leather-bound book, lying neatly upon a rolled-up sleeping bag and pillow inside a fallen tent._

 _The book displayed no markings on the outside, other than an unadorned strap to snap it shut. There was no introduction on the inside, either, but the inside cover bore, in Angeal's simple, precise print, the name_ Zack Fair _. The opposite page began, scrawled roughly across the top,_ Day 1 _._

 _It was Zack's journal._

 _A strange feeling overcame him at that point, and Sephiroth directed the other SOLDIERs to continue searching the site, while he retreated outside, into the brighter, but fading, light, to read._

 _It was not a very long read. Though many of the pages had been used, they were small pages, and Zack had not been conservative in his use of space. In addition to the many misspellings and grammar mistakes, there was much scribbling and crossing out, along with the occasional bored doodle. Sephiroth was torn between amusement and concern for the contents of those pages._

I expect we'll be back by dawn.

 _Those were the last words Zack had written. Slowly, Sephiroth shut the book. He raised his head to gaze upon the last of the golden sunlight lingering upon the treetops. An evening breeze awoke and drifted through the shadowed clearing, stirring his hair._

 _He considered the words in the book. Zack had been in this very place, not really so long ago … perhaps in this very spot, near the mossy stone head against which Sephiroth was now leaning. He was so close, his own thoughts right here in Sephiroth's hands … yet somewhere, just beyond his grasp._

 _What had happened to Zack, in this place? Events had shaken him horribly. His slipping was evident, even through the simple pages of the journal, and his struggling efforts to keep himself, and his team, together. Sephiroth's heart ached for him._

 _The General was actually surprised, and rather impressed, at the amount of detail Zack included in his entries. He hadn't expected too much, Zack being Zack, but apparently the young SOLDIER had found it useful, perhaps discovering a peaceful sort of reflection at the end of the day, in recording events. Sephiroth was grateful for it, in any case. There was just enough for him to piece together some of what had occurred, from things whose significance Zack had likely overlooked, included on a whim._

 _Zack's "furries" … Though impossible to tell for certain without seeing them, there was a strong chance they were the creatures that had become Zack's imposters. The constant watching, the ability to imitate voices … had they been studying Zack and the others? It was an eerie, unsettling thought._

 _Additionally, Stover's sudden insanity, though possibly caused by something else, could be explained, again, through the acts of one of those creatures. What if he had been a copy at the time? Perhaps an initial attempt at infiltration? Perhaps, after that initial failure, things had escalated in some way and led to the disappearance of the others. But when had the real Stover been replaced? And where had he gone? The answers were not immediately apparent from the journal, and Sephiroth hoped that it was not too late to discover them. For, if Stover had been the first to vanish, might the others, Zack included, have disappeared to wherever he'd gone?_

 _Sephiroth wished Zack had been more clear in his last entry, more descriptive of what had happened, his plans, and where their destination had been. But, he supposed, it told him all he really needed to know._

A valley to the North.

 _That's where they would go._

 _That's where Zack had to be, because if he wasn't … then this forest was far too large, far too deep, and Zack was only a single, small spark of life lost somewhere within it._

* * *

The jungle where they now searched was thick, pristine, and untouched by human hands. The trees were tall, with large, gnarled roots like heavy locks of hair, draping to the floor and sinking into the ground. If one could see past the trees, it would be evident that this was, indeed, a valley – the lush, green hills of the highlands surrounded them, somewhere past their view.

According to N'kim, it was called The Valley of the Red Leaf, or _Shii Rok'di_ , in native terminology. Though, to be accurate, it wasn't red leaves that they found here, but a pervasive, vine-like plant that all but covered the trunks of the trees and a good portion of the undergrowth, and which sported a tiny, but very vibrant, blood-red flower. Mildly curious, Sephiroth examined the small flower, finding that it resembled the tapered bell of a horn, flaring out at the end in a star-like shape. He remembered seeing something similar back at the ruins, though not nearly so widespread.

As decorative as they found the plant to be, however, it was also a bit of a hindrance. Tiny tendrils of the vine clung tenaciously to whatever surface it happened to adhere to, making it difficult to pass through areas where the vine had covered the undergrowth. Often times, they were forced to find a different path around – cutting through it was just too awkward and time-consuming.

But, it had been in this valley where Zack's radio had been found. So, vine or no vine, they would search every inch of it.

It had been many hours since they'd started their search that day, when a sudden, violent _screech_ speared through the normal murmurings of the forest, and Sephiroth had Masamune out and ready to strike at whatever had made it, before he knew what he was doing.

Tense, weapon poised in one hand, he stared down the quivering silver length of the blade at the culprit. It was a small climbing creature. It had tan fur, except for its face, which was black, and drawn up in a tiny expression of fury. A tail lashed behind it, and it glared at Sephiroth with eyes resembling hard, obsidian stones.

When Sephiroth did nothing, the animal approached another few steps along the branch it was perched upon, opened its mouth to reveal sharp little teeth, and screamed again, giving the branch a shake. Sephiroth narrowed his eyes.

It looked extraordinarily similar to the creatures back at ShinRa.

That was good enough for him. Drawing the blade back, he swiped at it.

There was an indignant squeal, and the animal dodged, then whirled and ran back up the branch, gaining height. Pausing at its new vantage point, it screamed a third time, and scampered rapidly away, emitting a laughing call.

It was answered, somewhere in the distance, by another scream, and a chorus of eerie, baying laughter erupted around them. The SOLDIERs stopped, gazed searchingly into the trees. They glanced at each other, unsure what to do.

Abruptly, the noise ended, and there was a collective rustle of leaves as previously unseen creatures left their hiding places and darted away, through the undergrowth and across networks of branches.

Then there was a startled curse from a SOLDIER, but Sephiroth hadn't the time to pay it any mind as, alerted by some sixth sense, he spun and cut down an animal that was leaping for his face.

After that, chaos erupted. Out of the corner of his eye, he saw at least four of the furry critters mob one of his SOLDIERs, who was backpedaling away, reaching back to pull out his sword as they swarmed up his leg. He suddenly felt something impact his back, clawing up the leather, and he reached behind to deliver a bolt of Lightning. There was a thud behind him as the small body hit the ground; already he was slashing Masamune across two others.

The situation quickly devolved into a row. Dozens of the creatures had emerged from the jungle; the SOLDIERs were beset upon from all directions. It was a quick, frantic, and furry mess. There was a yell on one side when a beast sunk vicious jaws into the corner of someone's neck, then a squeal as another's sword caught the same creature and sent it flying. From the other side, N'kim speared animals around a SOLDIER who'd lost his footing, and gunshots from Dr. Walker announced his own efforts in taking the creatures down.

But, really, against several high-ranked, experienced SOLDIERs armed with materia, the small creatures hadn't stood a chance. They were routed after a few minutes; the remaining animals fled into the forest. For several moments afterward, echoing calls retreated into the distance, and then the trees were still. Fires, sparked by both Lightning and Fire materia, attempted to lap their way into the canopy. The greenery was too moist, however, but Sephiroth took an Ice materia to them as a precaution.

As the steam from his actions drifted through the trees, Sephiroth took a moment to survey his team. Everyone was bitten, bruised and scratched to some degree. One of his Seconds, O'Malley, clutched a cruelly lacerated arm, pain coloring his grin. "Vicious little bastards, weren't they?" he commented. Another SOLDIER approached him to cast Cure.

Satisfied that there were no injuries too serious, and that all were receiving needed medical attention, he turned his focus to Dr. Walker and N'kim.

"Do you know why those creatures might have attacked us?"

The naturalist shook his head. "I don't. They're interesting little animals, but I can't say I know much about them. I only see them when venturing into the deep forest, and only one or two at a time. They're usually very docile."

N'kim spoke up, his deep voice contrasting with Dr. Walker's tenor. "They are the same creatures that visited our camp. We saw many of them there. But, I have never seen them act this way." Though he attempted to remain impassive, he seemed somewhat unsettled, and shifted from foot to foot.

"Hm." Sephiroth considered. "… I have seen them before. They are linked to Zack's disappearance." He scanned the trees, searching in vain for answers he didn't yet have.

N'kim raised his eyebrows in surprise. "They are? How?" When Sephiroth didn't answer, he stepped closer, gripping him by the arm. "How do you know this?" he demanded.

The General fixed him with an unreadable look. "I will know more when Zack is found, and may tell you then."

The man held his gaze for a moment, before he nodded, dropping his hand. He clearly wasn't happy about the answer, however, and stalked away to continue the search.

Sephiroth returned his attention to Dr. Walker. "If you see any more of those creatures, and they are close enough, shoot them." When the man nodded, Sephiroth turned away. They still had an incredibly large area to cover. And even then, there would be no guarantee that they'd searched all they could.

* * *

Whether it was hours later, or just felt like it due to the excruciatingly slow progress through the tangled brush, Sephiroth was unexpectedly brought up short by the unnatural _clang_ of something metal hitting the ground, very close by.

He turned to the left, scanning the leafy floor. Initially, he saw nothing, but a further turn brought his eyes to rest upon the dulled, cast iron surface of a small cooking pot, resting against the prominent roots of a tree.

His mind ground to a halt.

 _… A_ cooking _pot …?_

Incredulous eyes were slowly drawn upward, past the length of the trunk, and into the network of branches that began several feet above his head. The vines were thick here, obscuring much of the bark – it was difficult to tell where the tree ended and the parasitical plant began.

But, if his eyes hadn't failed him, and his imagination was not playing him for a fool, he could almost make out what looked like, buried in the vines, the toe and tread of a combat boot …

He drew back. The trees …

 _They were in the trees …?_

A shout further down the path stole his attention, and he looked, only to find a SOLDIER pointing frantically to something suspended among the branches high above – the distinct form of a body hung from a natural gallows.

An electric jolt raced down Sephiroth's spine.

They were in the trees!

He couldn't quite remember what he'd done in that moment, only that, with barked orders ringing in his ears, the charred scent of plant matter lingering in his nose, and a limp form laying carefully against the tree behind him, he was racing as quickly through the woods as the undergrowth would allow.

 _Zack._ Zack was here, somewhere; Sephiroth had to find him …!

He'd almost missed him, his friend, for the clutter of vines hugging him tightly to a large tree, holding him prisoner. As it was, Sephiroth skidded to a stop and quickly retraced his steps to find Zack secured to the main trunk, a few feet above the ground. Sephiroth had to step onto the giant roots of the tree to reach him.

The vine that held him had a brick red hue, tiny, delicate flowers hanging from thin tendrils, as if drops of blood. Zack was silent, eyes closed as if asleep, head tilted slightly forward to rest against his chest. One arm had been drawn diagonally across his chest and tied tightly there; the other had been pulled against the tree at the side of his head.

"Zack …" He was so pale, so still, his skin almost … ghostlike … Sephiroth rid himself of a glove and brought a trembling hand up to the side of his friend's face. The skin was so cool to the touch …

No, he couldn't be …

Fear gripping his heart, he lost a second glove and laid one hand along Zack's neck, the other fighting with the vines across his chest to find the pulse that had to be there. It _must_ be there …

He held his breath, leaned in close, _listening_.

At first, he heard nothing. Then …

 _There_.

One beat. Two beats. Ever so slow, and not weak, but not strong, either.

 _He was alive._

 _Thank Gaia!_ And after all this time …

"Tell me you're the real Zack …" Sephiroth murmured, searching his face. But there was no doubt. He _knew_.

Warring with the instinctive desire to immediately tear his friend down as he had the other soldier, he hesitated, needing to know what was going on. Why was he asleep? What were the vines doing to him?

"Zack." Gently, Sephiroth shook his shoulders. " _Zack._ " There was no response. Forehead creasing in worry, Sephiroth examined the sleeping SOLDIER.

The vines twined closely about him, delicate tendrils and flowers gently caressing his pale skin, and wrapping tightly around his shoulders as if the arms of a jealous lover. Upon closer inspection, Sephiroth discovered the remnants of what looked like white paint across Zack's bare arms. And, though it could be fanciful thinking, it appeared that the vines had shied away from the marks.

A faded white handprint over Zack's right eye seemed to produce the same effect, though it was difficult to tell – there weren't as many vines covering his face. Stark against his pale skin, three thin red lines had been drawn high across Zack's right cheek – claw marks, not yet healed. Sephiroth frowned. Other angry red injuries marred his neck and arms; his sweater and trousers had been ripped in several places.

Moving his focus to the vines hugging Zack's arm to his chest, Sephiroth plucked one of the flowers. He considered it for a moment, then brought it to his nose. It had a pleasant, lightly sweet fragrance, much like the one that permeated the entire area.

He was next aware of suddenly staggering, and N'kim was there, gripping his shoulder.

"-phiroth. _Sephiroth_." N'kim shook him. "What are you doing?"

The General frowned, blinking, and took a moment to regain his footing upon the roots. Slowly, he pushed himself upright, giving his head a quick shake to clear it. "I …" He glanced at the flower, still in his hand. His frown deepened. "… These flowers … appear to have a strong soporific effect." Throwing it down, he ground it beneath his boot. "They're responsible for the strange, tranquil quality of the air. They must be keeping him asleep." He indicated Zack.

Critically examining the vines binding his friend, and ignoring the concern that again welled up inside, he tried to determine the best way to free him. Again returning to Zack's arm, he carefully began to peel one of the tendrils away. At first, it came easily, and he was appalled to discover tiny thorns on the plant, which had embedded themselves into the skin. Then there was a rustling, and the plant abruptly tightened. The entire thing seemed to contract, and Zack was pulled higher up the tree.

With a shout, N'kim jumped forward and grabbed the vines. But, before his hands could make contact, the plant recoiled. Surprised, he paused. "What …?"

"… It's the paint on your hands," Sephiroth slowly realized. "It's driving the vines away."

N'kim stared in awe at his hands. Then, encouraged, reached for the vines again. But, after they recoiled further, Zack, too caught up in their tangled clutches, was hauled up with them.

No! This was not working the way it should. Alarmed, Sephiroth ordered N'kim to retreat. He grit his teeth, forcing himself to keep from physically pulling Zack away – he was certain that would just make the situation worse. After a moment of consideration, he turned to his Fire materia. At least he knew one method that worked.

Activating the stone, he aimed carefully, and focused the fiery energy upon the plant. It shriveled, shrinking away from the heat. Several _snaps_ were heard as weakened strands broke. When the fire had charred enough of it, it finally released Zack.

Sephiroth caught him before he could hit the ground. He took a last, satisfying moment to maliciously vaporize the rest of the parasitic vine, and then Zack had all his attention.

"Zack. Can you hear me?" His voice was urgent. Adjusting his hold on his lifeless friend, he turned the pale face toward him, and brushed matted hair out of his eyes. There was no answer. "Just hold on, I've got you. You're safe now." In the distance, he recognized the shouts of the other SOLDIERs as the rest of their missing men were found and rescued. N'kim was there, laying a concerned hand upon Zack's shoulder.

Sephiroth pulled the unresponsive First into his arms and stood, laying a Poisona upon him to help drive away any toxins in his blood, as he spoke.

"Stay with me, Zack. We're going home."

* * *

_to be continued …_


	14. Epilogue

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with this, I throw all my cards onto the table! This story is _done_. I didn't think it would be too difficult to wrap things up, but with a story this big, with so much going on, it turned out there was a lot to say at the end.
> 
> Can you believe that this was last year's Halloween fic? I never imagined it would grow so big or take so long! Happy belated Halloween! You still have all your leftover Halloween candy, right? See, it's not that late ...
> 
> Thank you to LuckyLadybug who has helped me with things throughout this story. And thank you to all my watchers, readers, and reviewers for sticking with me! This is the first chapter-length story I've ever completed. I have to say, I'm thrilled to have written it all!
> 
> What's next? I have another FF7 1920s detective story in the works, to continue the series I began in [_A Knock at the Door_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/202005). And I will also be continuing [_Distant Worlds, Broken Souls_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/200178/chapters/296558), an FF7/Star Wars crossover. Aside from that, I'm sure there will be other random ideas popping up. Maybe I should get started on this year's Halloween fic pretty soon, so I actually finish it in time!
> 
> Oh, and if you'd like to see more of Mochi the behemoth plush (introduced near the end of the chapter), you can find him in [_This Broken Road_](http://archiveofourown.org/works/200156).
> 
> Anyway, I've loved writing every moment of this story. I now present The End. Hope you all enjoy!

_Shouting._

 _Screaming._

 _They illuminated the night in shades of red. But it was pitch black, too dark to see. Even Mako-enhanced eyes couldn't distinguish much._

 _The flashlights were lost in the initial rush. The radio followed moments later, knocked from his grasp when needle-like teeth latched onto a wrist and speared his neck._

 _Bursts of materia lit the darkness for brief instants, but the miniature shadows dodged and swarmed quickly, and no one could see enough to lead them, to hit them in groups before they scattered. Fires would not stick, snuffed out by the forest itself, and starlight could not reach into these dark depths._

 _They saw only glittering onyx eyes, black on black, and the faint gleam off pearly ivory and wet jaws before they snapped upon their next target._

 _Two swords swung and slashed, and the staccato sound of gunfire laid a counterpoint to the mad scuffling, briefly illuminating the spray of fine drops of oil._

 _It wasn't oil._

 _He tripped over something firm, but soft, moving quickly, and went down. Catching himself, hands buried into the carpet of moist leaves, he momentarily lost his sword. Something impacted his side. There was a stab of pain, he yelled, reaching for the beast, but it was small and nimble, and scurried away, rapidly clawing across his back._

 _Frantically, he swatted at it; no use, he missed. It scampered around his neck; the brief brush of fur tickled his skin. Then it was suddenly in his face. He smacked it away, but not before claws raked across his cheek, just missing his eye._

 _Quickly, he stumbled to his feet, scrambled for his sword._

 _"Hammerson! Get Harley and Allen and get outta here!"_

 _A burst of Fire illuminated his path for an instant. The others were too deep for him to see, but he could hear them._

 _"Hammerson!"_

 _Blindly, he ran, swinging his sword by instinct._

 _But his comrades weren't where he thought they were._

 _"Hammerson! Harley!" He heard rustlings around him, let loose with a sweep of Lightning. Shrieks met his ears, singed fur greeted his nose. "Allen!"_

 _Something hit his head. Wasn't hard, but it caught him by surprise and he jerked away, stumbled. A root caught his heel, and threw him into a tree._

Crack.

 _He saw stars._

 _It took a moment before he gathered himself enough to stand. Gripping the giant nest of roots he'd fallen in, he pulled himself up; stabbed his sword into the ground for leverage._

 _It wasn't enough. Dizziness plunked him back into the dirt._

 _He shook his head. Gaia, he was tired. But why? He hadn't fought that long. Felt like the air was suffocating him. His head was fuzzy. Blinking, he shook it._

 _It was quiet now. Too quiet. Where were the others?_

 _"… Harley! Allen!" The volume of his shout startled him, jolted his mind a bit more awake. He frowned. Why weren't they answering?_

 _Again, he levered himself up. But he was brought up short. Unexpectedly, something had caught his wrist, and he fell back down, a surprised yelp escaping his lips._

What …?

 _He'd gotten tangled in some kind of plant. He pulled at it, scooted upright against the tree, and yanked hard. It only seemed to tighten._

 _A sudden rustling brushed his left ear and he flinched, whipped his head over to see._

 _A strong, sweet smell, like honeysuckle and mountain lakes, assaulted his nose and clobbered him over the head. He swayed, nearly keeling over. It took a supreme effort to stay awake. Groggily, he pushed away from it, managing to stand._

 _He staggered, his eyes feeling heavy._

What's … What is this …?

 _A third attempt to step away was halted; his captured arm had been pulled up against the tree. He tugged on it, to no avail._

What on Gaia …?

 _Twisting to face the tree, he planted his foot against it, grabbed his wrist with his free hand, and tried to pull away. But the plant refused to let him pry loose. A stray tendril wrapped around his other wrist, tiny thorns nipped his skin._

 _Shouting in surprise, he yanked the arm away. The vine, loose, went with it. Swinging around and pulling against the plants that still held his other arm, he reached for his sword, intending to chop away at the stubborn foliage._

 _But a sudden tug at the free arm brought him up short; his fingers just brushed the hilt. He cursed and strained against the vines. Just a little more …_

 _Even as he reached, he saw, in the dimness, tendrils slowly wrapping along his arm. A wisp of fear brushed his heart._ No … _He redoubled his efforts, heaved against the plants and made a wild swing. His fingers closed around the hilt …_

Yes!

 _But at the same instant, a constriction in the vines pulled him away. The sword, caught for a brief moment, was tugged toward him … before his fingers slipped off, grip too weak._

 _He let out a sharp cry of despair._

 _Hauled back against the tree, he continued to struggle, pushing out with his arm to keep it free. But the vines grew tight; he discovered they had wrapped around his legs and torso, kept the other arm pinned against the rough bark. The heavy scent of the flowers washed over him as they gently brushed his cheek. He twisted his neck, but was unable to escape them. Drowsiness settled upon his mind. His eyes grew heavy and his struggles lessened._

 _As darkness encroached upon his vision, he spotted a figure approaching. When it drew close enough, a sense of dread chilled his heart, and he thought he must be hallucinating._

 _It was himself._

 _The last thing he saw was the doppelganger grip the hilt of his sword, and, smirking, pull it from the ground. He flipped it around, settling it upon his back. Then he gave himself a mock salute and sauntered away._

 _Zack reached out for him, straining once more against the vines. Then the darkness was too much, and everything faded to black._

 _The flowered vines cinched tighter, pinning his arm across his chest._

 _He managed one last thought before his mind fled._

The Ghosts in the Trees … they're us.

* * *

Sephiroth sighed, turning a page in the book he was currently reading. They hadn't quite made it home, but perhaps that was for the best. It was peaceful here. Though the walls in the small room were whitewashed, the starkness was broken up by a few paintings of rocky, sun-splashed shorelines and glittering tides. Wide windows on adjoining walls of the room let in warm, late morning sunlight, filtered by thin, white curtains that fluttered in a light breeze. The balmy air brought in the salty scent of the ocean, and somewhere, he caught the lazy creaking of the town's weathered windmill.

Another page turned, and he glanced up to check on the quiet form lying on the bed beside his chair.

Zack was still sleeping. A single white blanket draped across his form, all that was needed in this temperate climate. He'd been unconscious for four days now, though last night had finally transitioned to a natural sleep. It was shortly after that that the monitoring devices had been unhooked and removed from the room, the absence of their constant beeping a welcome change. A single IV still remained attached to one arm.

Sephiroth considered his young friend. Though still pale, some color had returned to his skin, and neither he, nor the Mideel doctors, feared for his life anymore. He was pleased to note that the scratches on his face, and the other injuries, had begun to heal, no longer the fresh, angry red they'd been when he was found. The countless, tiny thorn-pricks from the vine had already vanished. It seemed that the plant had put Zack and the other soldiers into a deep coma, slowing their cellular activity in order to keep them alive so it could feed off their life energies. It was an energy vampire.

In a way, Sephiroth supposed he should be grateful. That incredibly deep sleep had been the only thing that sustained the soldiers over the course of the month. They would have died, otherwise, starvation or dehydration taking their toll. Indeed, this would have happened eventually at some point – they had found the bodies of several other victims as well, those that Zack's team had been originally sent to find. Only a few still lived after the extraordinary amount of time they'd been lost in the jungle, their bodies having given out some time before they'd been found. Ironically, those that survived owed their existence to the same plant that had imprisoned them. But to be kept alive in limbo, as the food source of some vampiric plant … He shuddered. It was not a pleasant existence.

Sephiroth considered the other survivors they had found, who now rested in other rooms of the small medical center. They, too, were recovering, though had been in a more critical state than the soldiers due to the length of time spent in the forest. He, Dr. Walker, and N'kim had seen to locating and notifying their families; all now had the support of their loved ones as they rested. Sephiroth regretted the victims who had already perished, but at least their families would have some closure, and were grateful for that small measure of comfort.

Movement from the bed stirred Sephiroth from his thoughts, and he focused on his friend. Zack shifted, rolling onto his side toward the General. Still blissfully asleep, he snuggled against the pillow with a content sigh, bringing one hand up under it, and the other to rest, loosely curled, just in front of his face. A stray lock of hair fell across his eyes. Sephiroth's features softened, and he couldn't help smiling fondly at the young SOLDIER. In that moment, he looked very much like Angeal's puppy.

Unable to help himself, he reached over to brush the lock from Zack's face, allowing ungloved fingers to linger in his hair. A shadow crossed over his eyes. Sephiroth had almost lost him. He'd left him, abandoned in the jungle for so long, while some wretched imposter stole Zack's life and Sephiroth's friendship. That he'd even comforted that vile creature while the real Zack was suffering so far away … it was unforgivable.

A light moan of protest broke into his thoughts; Sephiroth glanced down to see Zack turn his face and bury it into the pillow, away from the hand that sought to bring him to wakefulness. Amused, Sephiroth lightly ruffled Zack's hair, then let his hand drop when Zack finally turned and blinked blurry violet eyes up at him.

"Welcome back," Sephiroth rumbled, an unexpected tightness in his chest letting him know just how glad he was that Zack had been found.

Still not fully awake, it took Zack a moment to process things. "… Seph …?" he mumbled. Abruptly, he yawned.

Sephiroth leaned back in the chair, the small, warm smile back on his face. "It's about time, Zackary. I would have thought a month of sleep was a bit excessive, even for you."

Sluggish mind missing the import of that statement, Zack rubbed his eyes, mumbling his automatic response, "Don' call me Zackary." It came out in a croak, and he coughed, the words sticking in a dry throat. Immediately, Sephiroth reached for a water glass on the nightstand and held it to his friend's lips, arm slipping behind his shoulders to ease him up and help him drink.

Finding the water had an unexpectedly bittersweet taste, Zack nearly choked on it and tried to pull away.

"Drink," Sephiroth commanded.

Not given a choice, Zack managed to down about a third of the glass before giving up and waving it away. "… Ugh, what _was_ that?" His voice was dry, scratchy, not having been used in so long. He coughed.

"Diluted elixir, mixed with vitamins and other nutrients." Satisfied, Sephiroth replaced the glass, laying him back down.

Zack made a face. "I'd rather eat Mako." Sleepiness finally beginning to dissipate, he rubbed his eyes again, glancing around the room. Failing to recognize it, his mouth turned down in a slight frown. "… Where am I?" He cleared his throat, noticing the IV stand and the strange, pale blue liquid it held, traced the line down to where the needle was secured to his arm. "… Did … something happen?" He turned a confused, questioning gaze upon Sephiroth. He felt strange … as if he had cotton over his ears, and his vision seemed a bit wonky. And his whole body felt heavy, as if he'd just run the First Class obstacle course a few dozen times.

Sephiroth tilted his head. "What do you remember?"

"… I …" _Was_ he supposed to remember something? But what …? His mind was drawing a blank. For a few, long moments he lay, staring vacantly at the ceiling.

Suddenly it hit him, and he sat bolt upright. "Oh God, Seph, the others!" His voice was raw, anguished. "And Stover, I _killed_ him, I-" He broke off as a wave of dizziness struck him. He swayed, the room spinning. Sephiroth caught him, easing him back into the pillows. Several ragged coughs escaped him at the stress on his voice.

"Easy, Zack. They're okay."

Zack desperately pressed on despite his dry throat. "But we were overrun and I couldn't find them and what if they're _dead_ and _Gaia_ , Seph, _I killed Stover_ -!"

" _Zack._ " Sephiroth pressed gently down on his chest to keep him from getting up, heart aching to see such grief in his friend's eyes. "Shh. They are _fine_. We found them, they're all alive."

"But …" Zack shook his head, not comprehending. "But Stover, I-"

"Stover's alive too."

Zack stared at him. "… What? But he _can't_ be, I killed him myself! I _know_ I-"

Sephiroth shook his head. " _Listen_ to me, Zack." He raised a hand to cut off another protest. "Hush. Just listen. The Stover that you killed was an imposter." He remembered the difficulty he had himself in believing the Zack he killed was fake, and fought to find the right words to set Zack's mind at ease. "A copy. Like a Genesis copy."

"… A Genesis copy …?" Zack's tone was doubtful.

Sephiroth nodded and, after a brief pause to give Zack another sip from the glass to soothe his throat, patiently went on to explain about the events of the past month: the murders, the investigation, everything they'd pieced together, and finally the search for Zack and the soldiers, the vines, Zack's deceiving "furries," and the other victims they had discovered. Throughout the explanation, Sephiroth was forced to rein in his own emotions, the creak of the chair's arm as he gripped it the only clue at the fury that still boiled beneath his skin. He carefully projected a calm front as he watched Zack's confusion turn to disbelief, and finally to understanding and anger.

"I-It … they … they stole my _life_!" Zack finally burst out. "They were so cute and friendly, and I thought … I mean, we even fed them, and … But then they turned into monsters and they stole my life!" He turned imploring eyes onto Sephiroth. " _Why?_ It's all … it's all _insane_!"

"It is, and I'm not sure that the reality of what's behind it is any more believable." He paused, considering his words, and then began to explain what the scientists from ShinRa had just recently begun to learn, during the four days after Zack and the other soldiers had been found.

The abundance of Mako in the area of the deep jungle, specifically around the Valley of the Red Leaf, had spawned a twisted sort of cooperative symbiosis between two specific organisms – the tan, furry creatures and the red, flowering vine, or the _shii_ vine, as the scientists had taken to calling it.

"The ba'keel," Zack murmured, interrupting.

Sephiroth raised an eyebrow. "… The ba'keel?"

Zack cleared his throat. "Er, yeah. That's what those furry critters are. That's what we finally discovered at the end. They're the Forest Watchers."

It seemed that the creatures – the ba'keel – once weak and timid, and hunted by stronger monsters, had long ago sought refuge in the valley. Immune to the effects of the _shii_ pollen, the valley had become a haven for the animals, and so they had taken to luring former predators into the valley, allowing the pollen to gradually send the unwary pursuers to sleep. At that point, the ba'keel could choose to kill the victims, now their prey. But, through the power of Mako, their abilities grew and mutated, until, through odd quirks of circumstance, they found they could mimic the appearance of the prey they sought. Over time, a type of warped intelligence developed, and the creatures began to infiltrate groups of prey, taking on the appearance and behavior of one of their own, only to kill them, in secret, at their leisure.

At the same time, when the ba'keel chose not to immediately kill prey captured by the _shii_ vine, the vine would keep the prey in hibernation, slowly draining its life energies, slowly killing it. The prey would last for a long time in the clutches of the vine, renewing its energy as it slept, even as it was simultaneously drained away. But, providing the ba'keel did not return for their "stored" food at some point, because the plant inevitably drained more energy than was renewed, the prey would eventually wither and die. The plant would need more food – provided, more often as time went by, by the ba'keel. This allowed the plant to proliferate widely throughout the valley, with the ba'keel protecting their stored food source – and, consequently, the _shii_ plant itself.

Long ago, the ba'keel encountered humans – the incorrectly named Ba'keel tribe. It was discovered that, while the _shii_ vine held a person prisoner, the ba'keel, taking the person's form so the tribe was none the wiser, could walk amongst them as one of them, observing them, communicating with them, preparing them … as a shepherd would his flock. Though individual abilities differed, the creatures became experts in the art of mimicry. Voices, emotions, habits, reactions – all were gleaned from careful, continuous study of their targets, and then implemented when the time was right. Hidden amongst civilization, they could study and learn, and finally begin culling their food source – the easiest food source of them all.

At some point, in the distant past, the Ba'keel tribe had succeeded in driving the creatures out. No one remembered much from that time, the only remnants of such a history being legends, ceremonies involving special paints, and traditions once developed to resist the forest "spirits." No one yet knew why or how the creatures began returning, only that the forgotten truth and superstition had turned the people of all Mideel into victims once again.

"Man … That's _creepy_." Zack shuddered, as Sephiroth helped him sit up against the pillows. "Talk about a wolf in sheep's clothing! How would you ever know, before it was too late?"

"You wouldn't," Sephiroth responded, wryly. "I believe that's the idea." He sighed, leaning back in the chair. "At least, that is certainly what we experienced at ShinRa."

Zack gazed at his friend, taking in the weary set of his shoulders, the flash of pain carefully hidden behind emerald eyes. "… I'm sorry, Seph." He was suddenly miserable, guessing at the heartache that Sephiroth must have gone through. The General could try to hide it, but Zack knew him better than that. "If only I'd known, if only I'd tried harder …!"

"Zack," Sephiroth gently admonished, "there's no possible way you could have known that an imposter of you would show up at ShinRa, and I'd be forced to kill it. And you tried as hard as anyone could."

"But I saw it, Seph," Zack persisted. "Right before I fell asleep, I saw it pick up my sword and everything! I should have done _something_."

"You couldn't know, Zack. Even if you _had_ guessed where it was headed, I doubt you could have escaped from those vines. The scent of that flower was enough to overwhelm even me."

Zack sighed. "… I guess." He hesitated, biting his lip. "…Was I … really missing for a whole month?" At Sephiroth's nod, he glanced down at his hand, rubbing the bandage covering the bite on his wrist. "… It sure doesn't feel that way." He frowned. Was that why he felt so … off? And shouldn't his injuries have healed long before now?

Sephiroth watched him, taking a guess at what he was thinking. "When the _shii_ vine kept you prisoner, it basically put you in a form of suspended animation, which is how you were able to survive so long. But that included slowing your natural healing ability."

"Really? Man … that doesn't sound good." Zack chuckled. "I'm lucky these scratches didn't get infected, or something!"

"Actually … some of them did." At Zack's suddenly worried expression, Sephiroth continued. "Again, the plant kept the infection from spreading too quickly, but it didn't completely prevent it. You did not look good when we found you." He sighed. "… We quickly discovered that Poisona and Cure weren't options we could use. … There was the risk of materia poisoning."

Zack's eyes widened. "Materia poisoning …?" He recalled the brush he'd had with that phenomenon before – an extreme case of Mako poisoning, materia being the concentrated form of the energetic substance, which could occur under very rare, specific circumstances.

Sephiroth nodded, his expression serious. "By the time we found you, your energy levels were dangerously low, and they'd likely been very low for a while," he nodded toward the IV; Zack followed his gaze, "hence, the ether drip. This, of course, impacted the ability of the Mako in your body to store energy … and, Mako being what it is, a significant portion of it had leached into the plant that held you." Zack dropped his eyes, processing the words. "All combined, it made you susceptible to materia poisoning." Inwardly, Sephiroth kicked himself for not seeing the danger before he'd used that first Poisona on his friend. It was only after Zack had become dangerously pale that he'd realized there was some problem. Things had been touch-and-go for that first day, while the local doctors struggled to determine what exactly was wrong with Zack, and the rest of the soldiers. They'd had to fly in the specialized SOLDIER doctors from ShinRa, who had packed the powerful antibiotic and anti-toxin remedies manufactured specifically for SOLDIER use.

"… Huh. Guess that explains why I feel so strange." Zack fiddled with the IV line attached to his arm. If his Mako levels were low, it was no wonder he felt like someone had stuffed cotton in his ears. His normally sensitive hearing and eyesight were suffering because of it – details that he could normally pick out easily were gone, making the world seem flat and two-dimensional, the colors slightly washed out.

"I can imagine. You'll need a Mako booster shot when we return."

Zack grimaced at the unpleasant thought. "Oh, joy."

Sephiroth smirked, then twisted to reach for something on the nightstand. "Here." He tossed a flat package onto Zack's lap, and presented him with the remainder of the elixir. Zack regarded the glass with distaste.

"Do I have to?"

"It will make you feel better."

Zack huffed. Then he snatched the glass and downed it in two large gulps before Sephiroth could caution him to take it slow. Shuddering, he returned the glass to the nightstand. "Gaia, that is _awful_. Who invented that? They need a taste of their own medicine."

Amused, Sephiroth indicated the package. "We found your camera among the wreckage in the ruins. I took the liberty of developing the photographs."

"Really? Thanks, Seph!" Grinning, Zack tore open the package and pulled out the photos. The first images to greet him were some snapshots of the town and the Ba'keel village. Curious, Sephiroth leaned over his shoulder. Zack flipped through them.

"You know … I'm not really all that into photography myself. I think I do it more for … for Angeal than anyone else. Sometimes, I think it's a way to … I dunno, show him what I'm doing and what I've seen." He set aside another photo. "… I know, it's silly, right? It's not like he can see the pictures, or that, if he's around, that he'd even need a photo in the first place, but …" Zack trailed off, biting his lip.

Sephiroth laid a comforting hand on Zack's shoulder. "I'm sure he appreciates them."

Zack smiled a bit. He sniffed, resolutely not looking in Sephiroth's direction. "Ya think so?" He paused for a moment, recalling memories of browsing through one of Angeal's own albums. Then he shook his head, returning his focus to the present. Flipping over another photo, he suddenly came to one that made him groan and smack his forehead. "Gaia, I'm gonna kill Harley. I swear, next time I see him …"

Raising an eyebrow, Sephiroth took the photo. It was an image of a very bewildered Zack with a little girl slapping a paint-covered hand over one eye. A smile tugged at his lips. It was … cute. "I don't know, Zack. I think that look is very becoming on you."

He grumbled. "Maybe you should join the club then." Suddenly, a look of panic crossed his face. "I don't still have the paint on my face, do I? That stuff doesn't come off!"

Sephiroth turned a serious expression upon him. "Well …" He emitted a grave sigh. "It's not too bad, but I think we may need to get you a new photo identification card. And perhaps a new title … something suitable, like Jungle Warrior Zack. Your hair already fits the image."

Zack rolled his eyes. "Ha ha, very funny. Just so you know, I am _not_ responsible for the state of my hair after a month in the jungle." He ran a hand through it just to check how bad it was, and was mildly surprised to find it clean. Apparently, someone had taken the time to wash it while he was unconscious. His cheeks reddened slightly at the idea. Not that he wasn't grateful, but he wasn't sure he wanted to find out who had done it. He cleared his throat. "… Seriously, though … you're not serious about the paint, are you?" At Sephiroth's very serious expression, Zack groaned, then frantically rubbed his eye and cheek, seeking to get the nonexistent substance off. " _Great_. I'll never live it down. I'll be the laughingstock of SOLDIER! Cloud'll never take me seriously again. … Maybe Hojo's got some kind of powerful chemical that'll take it off …" Zack trailed off when he noticed Sephiroth's shoulders shaking slightly in suppressed laughter. "… You were joking, weren't you?" he accused.

Finally, Sephiroth gave voice to his chuckle. Pouting, Zack reached to snatch the photo from him. "You jerk, see if I ever believe you again." But his own mouth pulled up into a grin.

At some impulse he didn't fully understand, Sephiroth twitched the photo away, just before Zack could take it. "I think this photographic evidence needs to be kept some place safe, don't you agree?"

"… Photographic evidence …? What? Hey!" Zack reached for it, only for it to be held just out of his grasp. "That's not fair, Seph! Give it back!"

"I'll get you a copy." Smirking, Sephiroth tucked it into his coat. He didn't yet have a photo of his friend, and, after the close call they had, realized that he would very much like one. There weren't many opportunities where a camera was available to capture the unique bundle of energy that was Zack, and the moment frozen in the photograph described him well – only Zack could end up in such a ridiculous position. Sephiroth decided that he would rather like to remember that moment, though he hadn't been there to witness it. He would need to pick up a frame when they returned to Midgar.

Zack leveled another pout at him, crossing his arms. "That's, like, cruelty to invalids, Seph. It's against the law. You should be feeling sorry for me."

"Is it?" Amused, he turned his gaze onto the other photos. "Perhaps I should take a different photo, then?"

Glancing down at the photos in question, Zack suddenly froze in mortification, face flaming red. Right there, at the top of the pile, was a picture of him with his shirt off, looking distinctly out of his element as the young lady from the tribe, sitting much closer than he cared to remember, ran her fingers across his chest in a caress, applying more paint. It looked like it was a very _loving_ caress.

Zack sputtered and snatched the photo away before Sephiroth had a chance to pick it up. To his utter horror, the next one was a similar picture, the young lady pressing close and running her hands across his shoulders. Likewise, the following three displayed similar embarrassing situations. Frantically, Zack seized them and all but threw them back into the envelope. "I-It's … it's not what it looks like, I swear! She was crazy, and I didn't know what she wanted, and I couldn't understand anything she was saying, and they made me take my shirt off and everything, and it's not my fault, I didn't _do_ anything …!" He paused for breath, only to find Sephiroth quietly laughing in the chair.

"Honestly, Zack … you tend to get yourself into the most ridiculous positions."

Zack stared, then cracked a weak grin of his own. He rubbed the back of his neck. "… I guess it is pretty funny, isn't it?" He chuckled. "… Ahh … you won't tell Aerith, will you?"

Sephiroth shook his head. "I won't tell Aerith," he assured. She would probably find out and laugh at him herself, anyway.

Relieved, Zack returned his attention to the rest of the photos. The remainder went quickly – aside from a few photos of N'kim and the rest of Zack's party goofing off and playing SOLDIER ball while he was recovering from the run-in with the kimara, the only thing of real interest were the images of his furries, the ba'keel. They paused when they came to these.

"So, that's what you found at ShinRa, huh, Seph?" His friend nodded. "That's just so bizarre. I mean, look how cute they are! They were so friendly, and we fed them … Short of letting us pet 'em, they came up real close and everything." Zack sighed, rifling through the images. "… That's strange, though … I coulda sworn that these guys had purple eyes, just like mine. I know they did! They were the most incredible color, so _vibrant_ …" He frowned, laying out the photos. In the pictures, the eyes of all the creatures were an inky black. "That's just funny …"

Sephiroth picked up a few of them in consideration. "Hm. Come to think of it, we saw the same phenomenon at Headquarters when we were going through the security tapes. I thought it was a fluke or a trick of the camera, but in all of the images that showed your face, the eyes were black, too. And they were black when I fought the creatures."

"… Huh. But how's that even possible? Were the color of the eyes an illusion?"

"It's possible, I suppose."

Zack pondered. "… You know … that actually makes a bit of sense, now that I think about it. The other guys claimed to see these critters with different eye colors, but every single one I saw had purple eyes. I kept looking, but never did see any other colors. I thought that maybe purple was the dominant color, but … what if we only saw the color we wanted to see? Or only the color of our own eyes?"

Slowly, Sephiroth nodded. "Maybe that was an indication of it fixating upon a target, trying to get an imprint of your personality."

Zack shuddered. "Dang. That's creepy! And we just sat there and palled around with them …"

Sephiroth leaned back in the chair. "Another thing that was very strange were some of the habits of the creature. When I was tracking it, on the occasion that its path crossed a photograph or image of a person, it would rip out the image and destroy the faces."

Zack stared at him. "What? Why? That's too weird!"

The General shook his head. "I can't say for sure. That is something that the scientists will need to figure out. I can only hypothesize that it was some indication of … perhaps the animal attempting to memorize another face or identity to take?"

"If that's what it was, it certainly was a violent little bugger! Jeez."

"Indeed. I wonder whether the mutation of the creatures was pushed too far, too fast. Their behavior, overlooking the mimicry, did not follow the behavior of normal predators. They were vicious, ruthless, and wasteful. Rather than stopping to eat their … prey … they simply tore it apart and moved on."

Zack frowned. "Weren't they able to eat?" Though the thought of them eating their prey … the people at ShinRa … made him feel sick.

"I don't know. They must be, in order to survive, but it was very strange. If nothing else, everything points to them having a very savage, uncontrollable nature. … Once the study on these creatures and the _shii_ vines are complete, I wouldn't be surprised if ShinRa chooses to firebomb the valley."

Zack was appalled. "But isn't that overkill? Think of everything that'll be destroyed! Sure, those critters are horrible, but that doesn't give anyone the right to wipe them out and everything else with them! They're still living creatures! They're just trying to survive in their own way."

"They're monsters Zack. You know as well as I do that monsters are an unnatural mutation, and ShinRa destroys them when they become a problem. Otherwise, they become a plague on the natural environment. You've seen already that they're threatening the people here. They could easily become a threat to ShinRa itself, were any of our adversaries able to get their hands on such a creature. Besides …" And here, Sephiroth felt a chill at the remembrance, anger flaring behind his eyes. "They had me believing that they were _you_. That you might very well be a murderer. That I'd _killed_ -" He forced himself to release the protesting arm of the chair, lowering his voice. "… That I'd killed you. All while you were imprisoned in the forest for a _month_. … And they had you believing you had killed Stover. There is nothing left of those creatures worth saving."

Zack frowned, crossed his arms, thinking. He felt for Sephiroth, but … "… I dunno," he said, quietly, unsure. "It's still not right. They used to be normal animals once, too. Just because something's touched by Mako doesn't make it a monster, does it?"

Sephiroth hesitated, then gripped Zack's shoulder. "It does in this case, Zack."

Sullenly, Zack looked away, glaring at the edge of the bed.

A distraction came in the form of two figures suddenly appearing at the doorway. Zack raised his eyes at the movement. Upon seeing who was there, he blinked in surprise, then broke into a grin.

"N'kim! Hey, it's good to see you! I was wondering if you'd get back to the tribe before they kicked you out."

Though N'kim would never admit to it, he had routinely come to visit around this time each day, checking on the progress of his traveling companion. He had not left the Mideel village since helping to return Zack and the other victims; to stay so long in the coastal town was a rarity for him. The tribesman came forward, nodding at Sephiroth, and clasped Zack's forearm in greeting. He still appeared stoic, but his eyes were kind. "Zack. You look pale."

"Gee, thanks. I'll take that as a compliment, coming from you."

N'kim examined his friend, eyes lingering on the IV line and the bandages around his arm and torso. Hesitating, he bowed his head. "I offer my deepest apologies for leaving you to the forest. It is not what a warrior should have done."

Zack blinked. "Well, it's not like you had a choice. They wouldn't have let you return if you stayed with us and tangled with those critters! Besides, you'd have just ended up in a fix like the rest of us."

However, not about to be dissuaded, N'kim withdrew a long, curved dagger from its place at his hip. Taking it in both hands, he presented it to Zack. "Take this. It is the warrior's blade. I am no longer deserving of it." There was a quiet gasp from someone behind him, but Zack was too astonished to pay attention to it.

"… What? No, I can't take that! That belongs to you – I certainly don't deserve it." Zack was emphatic. "I'm the one who got everyone stuck in the forest for a whole month! You … that's … _you_ keep that. After all, you saved my life, remember? _Twice_ , from what Seph says!"

N'kim appeared to consider the words. Then his face hardened, and he again pushed the dagger toward Zack. Zack's shoulders fell, and he looked helplessly at Sephiroth. The General simply raised an eyebrow.

Finally, Zack lifted a hand, hesitated. If anything, he was the one who owed N'kim. But, if he refused again, it would be like a slap to the man's face. The native's honor demanded that he go through with it. After a pause, Zack slowly reached out and took the object. N'kim nodded firmly and straightened.

The young SOLDIER turned the blade over in his hands, silent for a long moment. Then he spoke up. "… Thanks, N'kim. For everything." Uncharacteristically solemn, he raised his eyes to meet the tribesman's gaze. "I don't know what I would've done if you hadn't been there." Though he didn't know how to say it, N'kim's presence had really helped to keep Zack together when it had seemed that things were falling apart. When he had to remain strong for the soldiers under his command, N'kim had no such expectations from him. There was a pause. "… And, I expect you to earn this back, you know," Zack finished, in a serious tone, though a corner of his mouth quirked upward.

N'kim was quiet for a moment. Then he cracked a smile, ever so slight, and inclined his head.

The very feminine sound of a clearing throat broke the silence between them. N'kim stepped to the side, revealing the other person he had arrived with. It was the young lady from the tribe.

Zack's eyes widened, and he froze like a deer in the headlights. Then, remembering the photographs scattered over the sheet, and suddenly unable to recall whether he'd hidden the ones of her, he frantically swept them all together and stuffed them back into the envelope, all but tossing the thing at Sephiroth.

"H-Hey! Didn't expect to see you here! Hi! Um, I mean, it's a pleasure to see you again …" _Oh, Gaia, let the earth swallow me up …_

The lady giggled at the nervous SOLDIER, stepping closer and clasping her hands. "Zaack. I am glad you are alive." She spoke slowly, glanced at N'kim for confirmation. He nodded. Sephiroth looked on in amusement.

She edged closer, biting her lip. "I will remember you, Zack. You are very brave." At this, Zack's eyes flicked to N'kim. _What the heck did you tell her?_ N'kim retained a stoic expression, but Zack had the suspicion that he was laughing. He returned his gaze to the girl.

"Um … thanks! But it wasn't anything, really … I mean, N'kim and everyone did a lot more than I did, I'm sure, you know, especially with the kimara bug and everything, and then I'm sure Allen was a sight to see with that sea worm …" He trailed off, watching her listen to him intently, and realizing that she may not have actually understood much of what he said.

When he seemed finished, she smiled gently at him, though there was a slightly regretful cast to her eyes. "I know you must leave, and I will miss you, Zack. … You write letter?" she asked, hopefully.

He blinked. "Uh … Yeah, sure, I'll … I'll write you a letter …"

Her smile widened, as she apparently grasped his meaning. "Good." Now at the edge of the bed, Zack fidgeting awkwardly, she brought a gentle hand up to the side of his face. He froze. She bent down and placed a kiss at the top of his cheek. "Good-bye, Zack." Then she pulled away, blushing, gave him a last, sweet smile, and left the room.

Zack had flushed scarlet. Not knowing what to say that wouldn't embarrass him any further, he mumbled something indecipherable, and stared resolutely down at the blanket, fiddling with the edges. Sephiroth brought a hand to his lips in appearance of thought, but in reality to hide the smile that threatened.

N'kim inclined his head once more. "Good-bye, Zack. Recover quickly."

Absently, Zack nodded, still stewing in mortification. But, just as N'kim was about to exit, he spoke up. "Oh, hey … Uh, I never did find out her name …"

The tribesman straightened. "Neela. My sister." He left.

Zack stiffened. "… He's gonna kill me." Abruptly, he buried his face in his hands, groaning. "All this time, and I never knew …? Oh, Gaia, what if he was there at that painting ceremony? His own sister … I am such a goner …"

Sephiroth grunted. "You're overdramatic." He watched the First for a minute or two, ever amused at the fixes he continuously managed to get himself into. Then, suddenly remembering something, he reached down beside the chair. "I almost forgot …" He pulled up a fuzzy, purple object and gently plunked it down in front of Zack. "Here. We recovered this from the campsite, too."

Zack looked up, still prepared to bemoan the identity of the girl who'd been trying to court him. Instead, his eyes widened in surprise. "Mochi!" Grinning, he scooped up the behemoth plushie and squeezed it tight. "I can't believe I forgot you! Thanks, Seph!" He peered at his friend from over the top of the toy's head. "I kept him buried in my pack, since I didn't want the guys to see." His voice took on a slightly embarrassed tone. "Never did find an opportunity to pull him out."

Amused, and glad to have the cheerful Zack back, Sephiroth's face softened. He spontaneously ruffled Zack's hair. "Always the puppy."

"Hey …" Zack grumbled, good-naturedly.

Gazing down at his friend, all the events of the past several weeks came into sharp focus, and Sephiroth once again felt how close he'd come to losing Zack forever. He moved to the edge of the bed and, to Zack's surprise, pulled the young SOLDIER into a tight embrace. He rested his cheek against Zack's hair, Mochi squashed between them.

"… Seph …" Zack's surprised voice was slightly muffled by Sephiroth's coat.

"… The last time I did this … it wasn't you." His chest tightened.

Silence followed, and then Zack freed an arm to wrap it around his friend, gripping the back of his coat and relaxing into the embrace. "I'm back, Seph."

"… I missed you." Sephiroth tightened his hold.

"Me too." Zack thought back to the week he'd spent in the jungle, how things had fallen apart around him. How he wished Sephiroth had been there!

Sephiroth felt Zack's shoulders tense, and gave him a reassuring squeeze. "I'm proud of you, you know."

"… Really? For what?"

"For the way you handled yourself and your mission. It was the first mission you organized yourself, and you did well; it was not your fault how things turned out. I heard much of what happened from N'kim and your journal."

His _journal_? Zack groaned, thinking of everything he'd said in there that he'd rather not have told anyone, and was glad his face was hidden in Sephiroth's coat. "You read that? Gaia, how embarrassing …"

Sephiroth chuckled. "Well, your grammar skills do need work. But it wasn't a bad read … and it helped us find you. I'm glad you wrote it."

"Heh. Well I guess I'm glad you read it, then. … You won't show it to anyone else, will you?"

"Just your fan club."

"What? Se-eph!"

With another chuckle, Sephiroth just held him tighter, overjoyed to have him back. He closed his eyes, a content smile gracing his lips. He felt complete, for the first time in a long while. And Zack, for his part, felt no inclination to pull away.

* * *

  
_End._   



End file.
